Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative and solar
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 68,647 homes in South Carolina. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 20.5¢31% above South Carolina average
- Typical bill
- $205999 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~15%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 9.3 yrs8.3 kW, cash
Export rules for Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative customers
Net billing (reduced export credit) (South Carolina rule).
Since June 2021 new solar customers of Duke Energy and Dominion Energy SC are on 'Solar Choice' tariffs: you're billed on time-of-use rates, solar offsets usage within the same period, and monthly excess is credited at the low avoided-cost rate (~2-4 c/kWh). Duke has a $30 minimum bill.
Solar for a typical Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative home
| System | 8.3 kW (101% of 999 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $23,835, $20,335 after incentives |
| First-year savings | $2,265 |
| Payback | 9.3 years |
| 25-year net | $41,090 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 289
- Share of customers
- 0.4%
- Residential solar capacity
- 2 MW
- Residential customers
- 68,647
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative follows South Carolina's rules: Since June 2021 new solar customers of Duke Energy and Dominion Energy SC are on 'Solar Choice' tariffs: you're billed on time-of-use rates, solar offsets usage within the same period, and monthly excess is credited at the low avoided-cost rate (~2-4 c/kWh). Duke has a $30 minimum bill.
How much does electricity cost with Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 19.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 20.5¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 999 kWh a month, a bill of about $205.
Is solar worth it with Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 8.3 kW system costing about $20,335 pays back in about 9.3 years, with $41,090 net over 25 years.
How many Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 289 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.4% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Blue Ridge Electric Coop Inc - (SC) (EIA ID 1890). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.