Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative and solar
Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 11,521 homes in Kentucky. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is not worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 15.7¢13% above Kentucky average
- Typical bill
- $1811,151 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~48%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 16.7 yrs5.2 kW, cash
Export rules for Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative customers
Net billing (reduced export credit) (Kentucky rule).
Kentucky requires net metering for systems up to 45 kW, but since SB 100 (2019) the PSC sets the export credit in each utility's rate case. For the big investor-owned utilities, power you send to the grid earns a bill credit of roughly 7-10 cents/kWh, well below the retail rate.
Solar for a typical Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative home
| System | 5.2 kW (50% of 1,151 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $15,720 |
| First-year savings | $947 |
| Payback | 16.7 years |
| 25-year net | $9,821 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 7
- Share of customers
- 0.1%
- Residential solar capacity
- 0 MW
- Residential customers
- 11,521
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative follows Kentucky's rules: Kentucky requires net metering for systems up to 45 kW, but since SB 100 (2019) the PSC sets the export credit in each utility's rate case. For the big investor-owned utilities, power you send to the grid earns a bill credit of roughly 7-10 cents/kWh, well below the retail rate.
How much does electricity cost with Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 14.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 15.7¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,151 kWh a month, a bill of about $181.
Is solar worth it with Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is not worth it: a 5.2 kW system costing about $15,720 pays back in about 16.7 years, with $9,821 net over 25 years.
How many Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 7 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.1% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Big Sandy Rural Elec Coop Corp (EIA ID 1708). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.