Montana Solar Estimate

Electric cooperative

Solar with Glacier Electric Cooperative

Glacier Electric Cooperative members pay 8.25¢ per kWh and no demand charge; a typical home's solar pays back in about 21 years.

See the numbers for your address

At a glance

Energy rate
8.25¢/kWh
flat rate
Fixed charge
$35/mo
billed every month, solar or not
Demand charge
None
every offset kWh saves the full rate
Net-metering limit
15 kW DC
bank resets in January

Residential schedule effective April 1, 2026; checked November 1, 2026. Sources.

What this means for solar

  • Excess power is banked as kWh at the full retail rate and drawn down in later months. The bank resets in January, and anything left is paid out at about 3.50¢ per kWh.
  • Glacier Electric Cooperative has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.
  • Systems up to 15 kW DC qualify for net metering; above that, capacity would run without export credit.

A typical home: 900 kWh a month, gas heat

Net-zero system
8.3 kW
1298 kWh per kW per year
Installed cost
as low as$20,737
up to $25,345
First-year savings
up to$936
at least $818
Payback
as low as18.3 yrs
18.3–23.9 yrs at 2.7%/yr

Best-case figures with the range shown; no federal credit for homes in 2026. Production reference: Cut Bank. Your roof, usage and heating change every number, which is what the estimate is for.

Full schedule and net-metering rules
Fixed charge
$35 per month
Energy
8.25¢ all kWh
Net metering
Policy 507 (Nov 2024): up to 15 kW; excess kWh banked; annual true-up after the December cycle paid at the BPA Tier-1 average power rate (not printed; 3.5c/kWh assumed); monthly facilities charge applies; application fee amount not printed.
Effective
April 1, 2026; checked November 1, 2026

Questions members ask

Does Glacier Electric Cooperative pay for excess solar power?
Excess power is banked as kWh at the full retail rate and drawn down in later months. The bank resets in January, and anything left is paid out at about 3.50¢ per kWh.
How big a solar system can I net-meter with Glacier Electric Cooperative?
Systems up to 15 kW DC qualify for net metering.
Does Glacier Electric Cooperative have a demand charge?
Glacier Electric Cooperative has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.
What would solar cost and save for a typical Glacier Electric Cooperative home?
For a gas-heated home using about 900 kWh a month, a net-zero system is about 8.3 kW, costs roughly $20,737 to $25,345 installed, saves $818 to $936 in the first year, and pays back in 18.3 to 23.9 years at 2.7% a year rate growth. Your address gives a real figure in about a minute.
What federal incentives apply in 2026?
The 30% homeowner credit (Section 25D) ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025. Business-owned systems, including ranches, farms and rental property, still qualify for the 30% investment credit (Section 48E) and bonus depreciation when placed in service by the end of 2027; tax-exempt owners receive the 30% as a cash payment. Not tax advice.
Where do these numbers come from?
The rate figures are read from Glacier Electric Cooperative's own published schedule and net-metering policy (linked under Sources), last checked November 1, 2026. The worked example runs the same engine as the estimator, using a production reference for Cut Bank and Montana installed-cost data. If you spot an error, email us and we will correct it.

Service area

NorthWestern EnergyMontana-Dakota UtilitiesLincoln Electric CooperativeLower Yellowstone Rural Electric CooperativeMarias River Electric CooperativeMcCone Electric CooperativeMid-Yellowstone Electric CooperativeMissoula Electric CooperativeNorVal Electric CooperativeBeartooth Electric CooperativePark Electric CooperativeBig Flat Electric CooperativeSheridan Electric CooperativeBig Horn County Electric CooperativeSoutheast Electric CooperativeSun River Electric CooperativeTongue River Electric CooperativeCity of Troy ElectricMission Valley PowerYellowstone Valley Electric CooperativeFergus Electric CooperativeVigilante Electric CooperativeRavalli Electric CooperativeFlathead Electric CooperativeHill County Electric CooperativeGlacier Electric Cooperative
Glacier Electric Cooperative's service territory (highlighted). Hover a region to see its utility.

Other Montana co-ops: Flathead Electric Cooperative, Missoula Electric Cooperative, Park Electric Cooperative, Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative, Ravalli Electric Cooperative, Fergus Electric Cooperative. All 26 utilities.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the documents below. We print the schedule’s effective date and the date we last read it; when a utility publishes nothing, we say so instead of guessing quietly.

  1. Residential rate schedule: fixed charge, energy rate
    Effective April 1, 2026 · Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
  2. Net-metering / distributed-generation policy
    Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
  3. Service territory on the map
    Checked October 31, 2026 · Read from the primary source
  4. Worked example: production, installed cost, savings and payback
    Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source

Spot an error or a rate change? Email mtsolarestimate@gmail.com. How the estimate itself is built: methodology.

Your address, your numbers

Roof, usage and heating change everything above. The estimate takes about a minute and asks for no contact details.