Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative and solar
Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 11,485 homes in North Dakota. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is not worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 7.6¢39% below North Dakota average
- Typical bill
- $1131,493 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~40%Avoided-cost export credit
- Typical payback
- Never6.8 kW, cash
Export rules for Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative customers
Avoided-cost export credit (North Dakota rule).
North Dakota's net metering rule only covers the three investor-owned utilities (Xcel, Otter Tail, Montana-Dakota) for systems up to 100 kW. Solar you use at home offsets retail power, but extra energy left over each month is bought at the utility's low avoided-cost rate (a few cents per kWh).
Solar for a typical Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative home
| System | 6.8 kW (50% of 1,493 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $20,500 |
| First-year savings | $680 |
| Payback | never within 25 years |
| 25-year net | −$5,697 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 6
- Share of customers
- 0.1%
- Residential solar capacity
- 0 MW
- Residential customers
- 11,485
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative follows North Dakota's rules: North Dakota's net metering rule only covers the three investor-owned utilities (Xcel, Otter Tail, Montana-Dakota) for systems up to 100 kW. Solar you use at home offsets retail power, but extra energy left over each month is bought at the utility's low avoided-cost rate (a few cents per kWh).
How much does electricity cost with Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 7.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 7.6¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,493 kWh a month, a bill of about $113.
Is solar worth it with Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is not worth it: a 6.8 kW system costing about $20,500 does not pay back within 25 years, with −$5,697 net over 25 years.
How many Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 6 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.1% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Mountrail-Williams Elec Coop (EIA ID 20413). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.