FreeState Electric Cooperative and solar
FreeState Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 17,654 homes in Kansas. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 18.6¢24% above Kansas average
- Typical bill
- $2031,088 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~16%Reduced export credit
- Typical payback
- 11.8 yrs8 kW, cash
Export rules for FreeState Electric Cooperative customers
Reduced export credit (Kansas rule).
Kansas requires Evergy and Liberty (Empire) to offer net metering. Solar you use offsets retail, and monthly excess offsets usage, but net excess at the end of a billing period is credited at the utility's average cost of energy (only a few cents/kWh) rather than retail. Co-ops and city utilities aren't required to offer it.
Solar for a typical FreeState Electric Cooperative home
| System | 8 kW (90% of 1,088 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $23,900 |
| First-year savings | $2,119 |
| Payback | 11.8 years |
| 25-year net | $30,440 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 436
- Share of customers
- 2.5%
- Residential solar capacity
- 4 MW
- Residential customers
- 17,654
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about FreeState Electric Cooperative and solar
Does FreeState Electric Cooperative have net metering?
FreeState Electric Cooperative follows Kansas's rules: Kansas requires Evergy and Liberty (Empire) to offer net metering. Solar you use offsets retail, and monthly excess offsets usage, but net excess at the end of a billing period is credited at the utility's average cost of energy (only a few cents/kWh) rather than retail. Co-ops and city utilities aren't required to offer it.
How much does electricity cost with FreeState Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 17.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 18.6¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,088 kWh a month, a bill of about $203.
Is solar worth it with FreeState Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 8 kW system costing about $23,900 pays back in about 11.8 years, with $30,440 net over 25 years.
How many FreeState Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 436 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 2.5% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: FreeState Electric Coop (EIA ID 10019). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.