Bear Valley Electric Service and solar
Bear Valley Electric Service is an investor-owned utility serving about 23,395 homes in California. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 43.3¢31% above California average
- Typical bill
- $129298 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~9%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 11.6 yrs3 kW, cash
Export rules for Bear Valley Electric Service customers
Net billing (reduced export credit) (California rule).
New customers of PG&E, SCE and SDG&E are on the Net Billing Tariff (often called NEM 3.0): solar you use at home saves the full retail rate, but power you send to the grid is credited at hourly 'avoided cost' values that average only about 4-5 cents/kWh (higher on summer evenings). Batteries greatly improve the economics. Municipal utilities like LADWP and SMUD set their own rules.
Solar for a typical Bear Valley Electric Service home
| System | 3 kW (139% of 298 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $10,700 |
| First-year savings | $841 |
| Payback | 11.6 years |
| 25-year net | $19,035 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 678
- Share of customers
- 2.9%
- Residential solar capacity
- 3 MW
- Residential customers
- 23,395
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Bear Valley Electric Service and solar
Does Bear Valley Electric Service have net metering?
Bear Valley Electric Service follows California's rules: New customers of PG&E, SCE and SDG&E are on the Net Billing Tariff (often called NEM 3.0): solar you use at home saves the full retail rate, but power you send to the grid is credited at hourly 'avoided cost' values that average only about 4-5 cents/kWh (higher on summer evenings). Batteries greatly improve the economics. Municipal utilities like LADWP and SMUD set their own rules.
How much does electricity cost with Bear Valley Electric Service?
Residential customers paid an average of 41.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 43.3¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 298 kWh a month, a bill of about $129.
Is solar worth it with Bear Valley Electric Service?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 3 kW system costing about $10,700 pays back in about 11.6 years, with $19,035 net over 25 years.
How many Bear Valley Electric Service customers have solar?
About 678 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 2.9% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Bear Valley Electric Service (EIA ID 17612). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.