Texas Solar Buyback Plans Explained (and Why There's No Net Metering)
Last updated: October 18, 2026 · 6 min read
If you've got solar panels on your Texas roof — or you're about to — you'll hit a question the sales pitch may skip: when your panels make more power than your home is using, where does that surplus go, and what do you get for it? In Texas, the answer depends entirely on the plan you choose.
The short answer
Texas has no statewide net metering. Because the retail market is deregulated, no law forces your provider to credit exported power at the full retail rate. Instead, individual Retail Electric Providers offer optional solar buyback plans that credit you for the surplus your panels send to the grid — usually at a rate below what you pay for power. To find a good deal, weigh the export credit and the base energy rate together, and read the caps and rollover terms.
Why Texas Has No Net Metering
In most states, net metering is a rule: the utility credits every exported kilowatt-hour at the retail rate you pay. Texas doesn't work that way, because of deregulation. The company that delivers your power over the wires is separate from the Retail Electric Provider that sells it to you, and no single regulated utility sets the credit. So exports become a feature each provider can offer — or not — and price however it likes. That's why two neighbors with identical panels can earn very different credit for the same exported energy.
What "Buyback" Actually Means on Your Bill
A buyback plan doesn't change how your panels work — it changes how the surplus is counted. By day your home draws power straight from the panels; whatever's left flows onto the grid, and the plan credits you for those exported kilowatt-hours. Two things surprise people: the credit is almost always a bill credit, not a check, and the export rate is usually lower than the rate you pay to buy power — so a kilowatt-hour is worth more used at home than sent to the grid.
Why the Credit Rate Is Usually Below Retail
Export credit rates vary widely between providers, and they tend to reflect what your surplus is worth on the wholesale market, not the full retail price. For example, as of 2026 you might see one provider crediting around 6 cents per kWh on a premium buyback plan and another around 3 cents, while a few advertise a "1:1" credit at the full retail rate. Those numbers change constantly, so always check the current Electricity Facts Label before you sign, and treat any figure here as illustration, not a quote.
Don't chase the "1:1" headline
A plan advertising full-retail buyback isn't automatically the cheapest. To fund that credit, these plans often carry a higher base energy rate or a monthly fee — so if you use most of your solar at home and export little, you can pay more than on a lower-rate plan with a smaller credit. Compare the whole Electricity Facts Label, not the buyback number alone.
The Three Buyback Structures (and Who Offers Them)
Nearly every Texas solar buyback plan is one of three structures. Knowing which one you're looking at tells you exactly where the catch is:
| Structure | How the credit works | Providers that have offered it* | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail-match (≈1:1) | Exports credited at about the same rate you pay to import. | TXU Energy (Solar Buyback Match), Green Mountain (Renewable Rewards) | Usually funded by a higher base energy rate, and the credit is typically capped at your monthly usage — no cash for net surplus. |
| Fixed credit + rollover | A flat, below-retail credit per exported kWh; unused credit often carries forward. | Chariot Energy (GreenVolt) | Confirm the credit rolls over rather than zeroing each month, and compare the base rate against a plain plan. |
| Real-time / wholesale | The credit tracks the live wholesale price — it can spike during peaks or fall close to zero. | Wholesale-indexed buyback plans | You carry price risk on both sides (import and export) — best only if you actively manage usage or run a battery. |
*Provider and plan names change frequently and buyback rates move constantly, so treat this as a starting point, not a quote. Verify current terms on the plan's Electricity Facts Label and on Power to Choose. Illustrative as of August 2026.
Use It Before You Export It
Here's the most useful idea for a solar home in Texas. Every kilowatt-hour you use in the house while the sun shines avoids your full retail rate; every kilowatt-hour you export earns only the lower buyback rate. So self-consumption beats export, and the lesson is about sizing — a system built to cover your daytime usage usually pays off better than one oversized to zero out the annual bill, since that extra just gets sold back cheaply. Running big loads in daylight, or pairing panels with a home battery to shift solar into the evening, captures even more. Whether solar is worth buying at all is a separate question we cover in whether solar is worth it in Texas.
Caps, Rollover, and the Fine Print
Because none of this is standardized, the plan's fine print matters. Many plans cap your monthly credit at your usage, so you can offset your bill toward zero but can't bank unlimited surplus for cash. Rollover policies differ — some carry an unused credit into next month, others zero it out each cycle, which stings if you overproduce in spring and fall short in summer. And some credits apply only to the energy portion of your bill, not delivery charges. Read the terms before you sign.
Austin Energy, CPS, and Co-ops Play by Different Rules
One important exception: not everyone in Texas is on the deregulated market. If a municipal utility or a co-op serves your address — Austin Energy and CPS Energy in San Antonio are the big examples — you don't choose a provider or shop for a buyback plan. Those utilities run their own solar programs, such as Austin Energy's value-of-solar credit, with rules set locally. If that's you, check your utility's program for the terms that apply.
How to Compare Buyback Plans
On the deregulated market, comparing buyback plans comes down to a few steps. Weigh the export credit and the base energy rate together — it's the effective rate across your whole bill that counts, not the buyback headline. Check the caps and rollover rules. Estimate how your output splits between self-use and export; your Smart Meter Texas data shows how much you actually send to the grid. Then match the term to your setup and re-shop when it ends — and, like any Texas plan, it helps to know when rates tend to be lowest first.
Compare real plans for your ZIP
Buyback plan or not, you're still shopping for a Texas electricity plan — and the cheapest one depends on your real usage, not the headline rate. Compare every plan in your ZIP in under a minute.
Compare Plans Free →Common Questions
Does Texas have net metering?
No. Because the Texas retail market is deregulated, there is no statewide net-metering law forcing your provider to credit exports at the full retail rate. Instead, individual Retail Electric Providers offer optional solar buyback plans, and each sets its own credit rate — usually below the retail rate you pay. If you want credit for exported energy, you have to pick a plan that offers it.
What is a solar buyback plan in Texas?
It is a plan from a Retail Electric Provider that gives you a bill credit for the surplus kilowatt-hours your panels export to the grid. You still buy power at night and on cloudy days at the plan's normal rate; the buyback part just credits the excess. The credit is almost always applied to your bill, not paid out as cash.
Is a 1:1 solar buyback plan the best deal?
Not automatically. A 1:1 plan credits exports at the full retail rate, which sounds ideal, but those plans often carry a higher base energy rate or a monthly fee to pay for it. If you use most of your solar at home and export relatively little, a plan with a lower base rate and a smaller export credit can leave you paying less overall. Compare the whole plan at your real numbers, not just the buyback headline.
Do solar buyback credits roll over or expire?
It depends on the plan. Some carry an unused credit forward, some zero it out each cycle, and many cap your monthly credit at your usage so you cannot bank unlimited surplus. None of this is standardized in Texas, so the only way to know is to read the plan's Electricity Facts Label before you sign.
Which providers offer solar buyback plans in Texas?
Several major Retail Electric Providers do, and their plans fall into three structures. Retail-match (roughly 1:1) plans credit exports near your import rate — TXU Energy's Solar Buyback Match and Green Mountain Energy's Renewable Rewards are well-known examples — but they typically pair the match with a higher base energy rate and cap the credit at your monthly usage. Fixed-credit plans pay a flat, below-retail rate per exported kWh, sometimes with credit that rolls over month to month, as with Chariot Energy's GreenVolt. A few plans track the real-time wholesale price, which can spike or crash. Provider names, plan names and rates change often, so confirm current terms on the plan's Electricity Facts Label and on Power to Choose before signing.