Colorado · Net metering · Deep-stack program
CO Net Metering
Sets the billing terms for excess solar generation sent back to the grid by residential customers in Colorado -- see the credit rate and how it shapes payback below.
- Retail rate credit
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 12.3 yr
- Colorado baseline payback
- 4
- other Colorado programs
Deep-stack program · early directory
Colorado runs a 5-program DSIRE stack; this net metering is one layer on a 12.3-year modeled baseline, not the whole story.
- Stack5 programs
- In-state #1/4
- Type #4/46
- Baseline12.3 yr
In-state directory place #1 of 4 (early alphabet). National net metering directory #4 of 46. Amounts and eligibility change; verify with the official program page before relying on a dollar figure. Informational only - not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
Program description
Investor-owned utilities must offer net metering at retail rate for residential customers.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Net metering
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- Retail rate credit
- State electricity rate
- 14.2¢/kWh
- Colorado solar score
- 45/100
Solar's trajectory in Colorado
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Colorado reported to the EIA.
Colorado's solar incentive stack
How this net metering sits among Colorado's 4 tracked programs, by type
- Tax exemption
Tax exemption
2 programs
- Net metering
Net metering
1 programs
- Performance
Performance
1 programs
What this shows Colorado tracks 3 incentive types; net metering (1 program) governs the billing side, while the state's other tracked types handle upfront cost or ongoing payments.
How this net metering layers inside Colorado's deep stack
The CO Net Metering governs how Colorado credits excess solar generation sent back to the grid, one of the state's DSIRE-tracked solar policies. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Retail rate credit. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.
That baseline is slower than most states, which raises the stakes for every incentive on the table. Colorado averages 5.5 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 14.2¢/kWh, producing an estimated 9,636 kWh/year and $1,368 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,800. That baseline already implies a 12.3-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $17,400 before this incentive - every dollar this net metering delivers compresses that payback further.
Colorado bundles a deep incentive stack, so this program rarely stands alone. Colorado has 5 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like CO Renewable Energy Sales Tax Exemption, CO Residential Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption, Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards. The state's net-metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.
Other Colorado incentives
Frequently asked questions
Where does the CO Net Metering sit in Colorado's deep program stack?
How does this net metering work beside Colorado's other programs?
Who qualifies, and why is this an early in-state directory row?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Colorado?
Which other Colorado programs stack with this one?
Incentive data from the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency); state solar economics from NREL and the U.S. EIA. See our methodology · Colorado solar data · ROI calculator · All incentives.