Federal (BIA) utility
Solar with Mission Valley Power
Mission Valley Power members pay 9.01¢ per kWh plus a $0.80 per kW demand charge; a typical home's solar pays back in about 22 years.
See the numbers for your address
At a glance
Energy rate
9.01¢/kWh
tiered by monthly use
Fixed charge
$27/mo
billed every month, solar or not
Demand charge
$0.80/kW
not reduced by solar
Net-metering limit
20 kW AC
bank resets in April
Residential schedule effective March 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 April, and anything left is forfeited to the utility.
- Every member pays a $0.80 per kW demand charge on the highest rolling 15-minute demand of the billing cycle. Rooftop solar rarely lowers a home's peak demand, so our estimates do not count it as savings.
- Systems up to 20 kW AC qualify for net metering; above that, capacity would run without export credit.
- Net-metered accounts pay $5 a month more in fixed charges.
A typical home: 900 kWh a month, gas heat
Net-zero system
9.3 kW
1163 kWh per kW per year
Installed cost
as low as$22,591
up to $27,611
First-year savings
up to$970
at least $851
Payback
as low as19 yrs
19–24.8 yrs at 2.7%/yr
Best-case figures with the range shown; no federal credit for homes in 2026. Production reference: Polson. Your roof, usage and heating change every number, which is what the estimate is for.
Full schedule and net-metering rules
- Fixed charge
- $27 per month
- Energy
- 9.01¢ up to 1,000 kWh; 10.07¢ up to 2,000 kWh; 12.49¢ above that
- Demand
- $0.80 per kW, all residential; highest rolling 15-minute demand of the billing cycle
- Net metering
- Net-metering agreement (2023): 20 kW AC or less; excess carried forward and zeroed at the end of the April-March true-up year; net-meter basic charge $32 ($5 above standard); application fee not stated.
- Effective
- March 1, 2026; checked November 1, 2026
Questions members ask
- Does Mission Valley Power 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 April, and anything left is forfeited to the utility.
- How big a solar system can I net-meter with Mission Valley Power?
- Systems up to 20 kW AC qualify for net metering. Net-metered accounts pay $5 a month more in fixed charges.
- Does solar reduce the Mission Valley Power demand charge?
- Every member pays a $0.80 per kW demand charge on the highest rolling 15-minute demand of the billing cycle. Rooftop solar rarely lowers a home's peak demand, so our estimates do not count it as savings.
- What would solar cost and save for a typical Mission Valley Power home?
- For a gas-heated home using about 900 kWh a month, a net-zero system is about 9.3 kW, costs roughly $22,591 to $27,611 installed, saves $851 to $970 in the first year, and pays back in 19 to 24.8 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 Mission Valley Power'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 Polson and Montana installed-cost data. If you spot an error, email us and we will correct it.
Service area
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.
- Residential rate schedule: fixed charge, energy rate, demand chargeEffective March 1, 2026 · Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
- Net-metering / distributed-generation policyChecked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
- Service territory on the mapChecked October 31, 2026 · Read from the primary source
- Worked example: production, installed cost, savings and paybackChecked 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.