Investor-owned utility (PSC-regulated)
Solar with Montana-Dakota Utilities
Montana-Dakota Utilities members pay 11.8¢–14.5¢ per kWh and no demand charge; a typical home's solar pays back in about 14 years.
See the numbers for your address
At a glance
Energy rate
11.8¢–14.5¢/kWh
winter to summer, riders included
Fixed charge
$8/mo
billed every month, solar or not
Demand charge
None
every offset kWh saves the full rate
Net-metering limit
50 kW AC
bank resets in April
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 April (or another quarter you choose), and anything left is forfeited to the utility.
- Montana-Dakota Utilities has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.
- Systems up to 50 kW AC qualify for net metering; above that, capacity would run without export credit.
A typical home: 900 kWh a month, gas heat
Net-zero system
8.2 kW
1323 kWh per kW per year
Installed cost
as low as$20,546
up to $25,112
First-year savings
up to$1,436
at least $1,264
Payback
as low as12.6 yrs
12.6–16.7 yrs at 2.7%/yr
Best-case figures with the range shown; no federal credit for homes in 2026. Production reference: Glendive. Your roof, usage and heating change every number, which is what the estimate is for.
Full schedule and net-metering rules
- Fixed charge
- $8 per month
- Energy
- 9.78¢ all kWh; summer (Jun-Sep): 12.47¢; plus 2.01¢ per kWh in riders
- Net metering
- Rate 92 Net Metering Service (effective Oct 1, 2023): up to 50 kW; excess credited to the next bill and granted to the company without compensation at the end of the 12-month period (start Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1 or Oct 1); basic charge still applies; two-direction meter provided. Rate 94 net billing (3.416c/kWh) is a separate QF option.
- Notes
- Interim rates are refundable with interest once the PSC issues a final order in Docket 2025.09.072 (expected 2026-27); the fuel tracker changes monthly.
- Effective
- April 1, 2026; checked November 1, 2026
Questions members ask
- Does Montana-Dakota Utilities 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 (or another quarter you choose), and anything left is forfeited to the utility.
- How big a solar system can I net-meter with Montana-Dakota Utilities?
- Systems up to 50 kW AC qualify for net metering.
- Does Montana-Dakota Utilities have a demand charge?
- Montana-Dakota Utilities has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.
- What would solar cost and save for a typical Montana-Dakota Utilities home?
- For a gas-heated home using about 900 kWh a month, a net-zero system is about 8.2 kW, costs roughly $20,546 to $25,112 installed, saves $1,264 to $1,436 in the first year, and pays back in 12.6 to 16.7 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 Montana-Dakota Utilities'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 Glendive and Montana installed-cost data. If you spot an error, email us and we will correct it.
Service area
Other Montana utilities: NorthWestern Energy. 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.
- Residential rate schedule: fixed charge, energy rateEffective April 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.