Typical customer: Close call

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association and solar

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association is an electric cooperative serving about 16,710 homes in Missouri. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is a close call.

Average price (2026 est.)
15.5¢11% above Missouri average
Typical bill
$2011,297 kWh a month
Exports credited
~29%Avoided-cost export credit
Typical payback
13.4 yrs9.9 kW, cash

Export rules for Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association customers

Avoided-cost export credit (Missouri rule).

Missouri's net metering law nets usage and production within each monthly bill at full retail, but any net excess for the month is credited only at the utility's avoided fuel cost (a few cents/kWh), and unused credits expire after 12 months. Systems are capped at 100 kW.

Missouri net metering details

Solar for a typical Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association home

System9.9 kW (90% of 1,297 kWh/month)
Cost$26,765
First-year savings$2,100
Payback13.4 years
25-year net$26,274

Uses the utility's average price.

Solar adoption

Homes with solar (2025)
406
Share of customers
2.4%
Residential solar capacity
4 MW
Residential customers
16,710

EIA-861, 2025.

Questions about Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association and solar

Does Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association have net metering?

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association follows Missouri's rules: Missouri's net metering law nets usage and production within each monthly bill at full retail, but any net excess for the month is credited only at the utility's avoided fuel cost (a few cents/kWh), and unused credits expire after 12 months. Systems are capped at 100 kW.

How much does electricity cost with Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association?

Residential customers paid an average of 14.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 15.5¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,297 kWh a month, a bill of about $201.

Is solar worth it with Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association?

For a typical customer, solar is a close call: a 9.9 kW system costing about $26,765 pays back in about 13.4 years, with $26,274 net over 25 years.

How many Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Association customers have solar?

About 406 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 2.4% of residential customers (EIA-861).

Legal name: Osage Valley Elec Coop Assn (EIA ID 14192). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.