Liberty Utilities and solar
Liberty Utilities is an investor-owned utility serving about 44,507 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.)
- 29.1¢12% below California average
- Typical bill
- $148510 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~14%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 11.5 yrs3 kW, cash
Export rules for Liberty Utilities 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 Liberty Utilities home
| System | 3 kW (81% of 510 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $10,700 |
| First-year savings | $844 |
| Payback | 11.5 years |
| 25-year net | $19,584 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 744
- Share of customers
- 1.7%
- Residential solar capacity
- 4 MW
- Residential customers
- 44,507
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Liberty Utilities and solar
Does Liberty Utilities have net metering?
Liberty Utilities 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 Liberty Utilities?
Residential customers paid an average of 27.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 29.1¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 510 kWh a month, a bill of about $148.
Is solar worth it with Liberty Utilities?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 3 kW system costing about $10,700 pays back in about 11.5 years, with $19,584 net over 25 years.
How many Liberty Utilities customers have solar?
About 744 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 1.7% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Liberty Utilities (EIA ID 57483). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.