Connecticut electricity rates run well above the national average, and it replaced old-style net metering with a program that gives homeowners a real choice. Here is how the 2026 landscape works, without the recycled 2022 sales pitch.
Connecticut homeowners pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country, well above the national average once supply and delivery are added together. Every kilowatt hour your roof produces is one you do not buy from Eversource or United Illuminating at that premium rate.
For years the incentive that made solar pencil out was classic net metering, where your meter effectively ran backward and every exported kilowatt hour offset one you pulled later. Connecticut retired that legacy structure for new residential systems and replaced it with a tariff-based program called Renewable Energy Solutions, or RES.
The change sounds technical, but the practical effect is simple. Instead of one automatic arrangement, you now choose between two tariff options with terms locked for the program term. That choice is where the real money is, and it is why a design built for your actual usage matters more in Connecticut than almost anywhere we work.
We model your roof against both options before you sign, so you are choosing with real numbers for your address rather than a regional average or a salesperson’s guess.
Connecticut’s RES program, run through Eversource and United Illuminating, gives residential solar two enrollment options, and both lock their terms for the program term, which is exceptional program stability compared with states that revise their rules every couple of years.
Path one is the Netting tariff. You use your own production first, and the surplus you export to the grid earns a credit that offsets what you draw later. This is the classic self-consumption model with long-term certainty, and it is the path most owner-occupied homes choose.
Path two is the Buy-All tariff. Every kilowatt hour your system produces is sold to the utility at a fixed rate as production income, while you keep buying your household power the normal way. Buy-All can suit specific situations, but your home does not consume the solar directly, and battery backup does not pair with it.
Which path wins depends on your usage pattern, your roof’s production and the current tariff rates. We build the 20-year comparison for both and put it in writing so the better option for your home is obvious, not a coin flip.
The easiest way to think about it: Netting rewards using your own solar, and Buy-All turns your roof into a small power plant that sells everything to the grid. Neither is universally better. The right answer comes from how and when your household actually uses electricity.
Netting tends to favor homes with meaningful daytime and evening usage, a plan to add a battery, or an interest in energy independence. Because your panels feed the house first, more of your production offsets power you would otherwise buy at Connecticut’s high retail rate.
Buy-All can make sense when the fixed sell rate is attractive relative to your retail rate and you do not need backup power, since you are selling all production and buying all consumption as two separate transactions. The tradeoff is that you lose the ability to run your home on your own panels and you cannot add battery backup under that tariff.
This is exactly the kind of decision where a 20-year model beats a gut feel. We run both tariffs against your real numbers and show you the difference in plain language before anything is signed.
Connecticut runs a dedicated battery program called Energy Storage Solutions, offered through Eversource and United Illuminating. It supports residential storage with an upfront incentive plus ongoing performance payments for letting the utility draw on your battery during periods of peak grid demand.
For a homeowner that means two benefits at once. Your battery keeps essential circuits running when the grid goes down, and the program pays you over time for the grid services your battery provides. The exact incentive depends on your battery size, your utility and current program rules, so we confirm what you qualify for during the assessment.
Storage only pairs with the Netting tariff, not Buy-All, which is one more reason the RES choice and the battery decision have to be made together rather than in isolation. If backup power matters to you, that usually points toward Netting from the start.
We size the battery to the circuits you actually want protected, not a one-size box, and we tell you honestly when storage does not earn its keep for your situation.
There is no single right way to go solar in Connecticut, only the one that fits your situation. Rooftop Power offers four, and three of them start with no money down, so a strong roof does not require a large check to get moving.
A solar loan lets you own the system and its production while spreading the cost over time. Paying cash owns it outright for the strongest long-term position. A power purchase agreement, or PPA, means you pay only for the power the panels produce at a set rate. A lease is a fixed monthly payment for the equipment.
Each option interacts a little differently with the RES tariff you pick and with the Green Bank financing below, so we walk through all four with your real numbers side by side. You get a fixed, predictable power cost instead of a utility rate that keeps moving, and you choose the structure with open eyes.
We never push the option that pays us the most. The comparison goes in writing so you can take your time with it.
The Connecticut Green Bank backs residential clean energy with financing programs, including Smart-E loans through participating local lenders, plus initiatives aimed at making solar accessible for low and moderate income households. Availability and terms vary by program and lender, so we confirm the current options that fit your situation during the assessment.
On top of financing, Connecticut removes two of the tax frictions that scare homeowners off. Solar equipment is exempt from the state’s state sales tax, so you are not taxed on the hardware. Residential renewable systems are also exempt from property tax assessment, which means the value your system adds to your home does not raise your property tax bill.
Both exemptions are structural rather than cycle-dependent, so they are not the kind of incentive that quietly expires between quarters. They are part of why Connecticut’s solar case holds up even after the federal picture changed.
We factor the sales tax exemption and the property tax exemption into your written numbers rather than leaving them as vague talking points.
Be careful with any company still leading its Connecticut pitch with an outdated federal credit figure. Federal solar tax incentives change over time, so a company advertising a specific old percentage as a current, permanent benefit may be selling the past. Ask us about the current federal tax credit status for your install.
The good news is that Connecticut’s case in 2026 never rested on the federal credit alone. It rests on what is real: very high utility rates, a 20-year locked RES tariff either way you choose, the Energy Storage Solutions battery program, Green Bank financing and two standing tax exemptions.
That is a strong hand. It just is not the hand from the old brochures, and we think you deserve the current one, verified for your exact address and put in writing before you sign anything.
Backup power, and why it pairs with the Netting path and Energy Storage Solutions.
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How loan, cash, PPA and lease each interact with the RES tariff you choose.
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How a Connecticut system is designed, permitted and installed by our own crews.
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A 20-year comparison with current tariff rates, battery incentives and every payment option, in writing, free.