The short answer
Extra solar power is not lost. Under net metering, power your home uses earns the home creditCredited at the supply and delivery parts of your rate. Fixed monthly charges stay.What your solar credit coversFixed monthly charges on your bill are not covered by credits.R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4-2(22). If credits are left, RI Energy may carry them to the next billUnused credits roll to next month. A leftover balance can be cashed out once a year.How net metering credits roll overThe utility is allowed to carry credits forward but not required to. If you move, you can cash out the balance when you close the account.RI Energy, Net Metering Provision, RIPUC No. 2279 (effective 5/12/2026). Power beyond your own use earns the wholesale priceWholesale price, much lower than your retail rateWhat power beyond your own use earnsThe law changed in 2025. The utility's own table still lists this rate as to be determined.R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4-2(8), which is lower than the home credit.
What counts as extra?
Think of your solar in two buckets.
The first bucket is power your home uses. That power can offset the per-kWh supply, delivery, transmission and transition charges on your bill. Fixed bill charges still stay.
The second bucket is power beyond your own use. That is the true extra. Rhode Island law says it earns the wholesale price, not the full home credit.
For typical home-size systems, the state does not cap how much power can fall into that second bucket. All power past your own use gets the excess creditNo cap for systems 25 kW and underIs extra power capped for home systems?Bigger systems only get credit for extra power up to a limit.R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4-2(8). The catch is that the excess credit is worth less than a regular net metering credit.
Do credits roll over?
Yes, they can. Unused credits roll to next month. A leftover balance can be cashed out once a year.Unused credits roll to next month. A leftover balance can be cashed out once a year.How net metering credits roll overThe utility is allowed to carry credits forward but not required to. If you move, you can cash out the balance when you close the account.RI Energy, Net Metering Provision, RIPUC No. 2279 (effective 5/12/2026) That matters because solar output and home use do not line up neatly. You may make more than you use in bright months and less in darker months.
Note the word “may”. The tariff lets RI Energy carry unused credits forward, but it does not promise to. Keep a copy of the current net metering rules with your quote notes.
What if I pick REG instead?
This guide is about net metering. Rhode Island’s REG program is different. REG replaces net metering. You get one or the other.REG replaces net metering. You get one or the other.Does REG work with net metering?A system already on net metering can't join REG. Ask in writing who receives REG's cash part; RI Energy's documents differ on it.RI Energy, RE Growth Program Tariff for Residential Customers, RIPUC No. 2151-M (effective 4/1/2026) If you choose REG, your extra power is handled under that program’s payment rules instead of net metering credits.
That choice can change who gets paid and how the bill looks. Ask for the answer in writing before you sign.
What should I ask before signing?
Ask the installer to show the math in plain English:
- how much of your solar power they expect your home to use
- how much they expect to be extra
- what excess credit rate they used
- whether the quote assumes net metering or REG
- how unused credits and any cash-out work on your RI Energy account
If the proposal treats extra power like it earns the same credit as power you use at home, ask them to fix it. Rhode Island’s rules do not treat those two buckets the same.
Sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4-2. Read Sep 28, 2026.
- RI Energy, Net Metering Provision, RIPUC No. 2279 (effective 5/12/2026). Read Sep 28, 2026.
- RI Energy, RE Growth Program Tariff for Residential Customers, RIPUC No. 2151-M (effective 4/1/2026). Read Sep 28, 2026.