Palmetto Electric Cooperative and solar
Palmetto Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 69,848 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.)
- 14.9¢5% below South Carolina average
- Typical bill
- $1801,210 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~20%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 11.6 yrs8.5 kW, cash
Export rules for Palmetto 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 Palmetto Electric Cooperative home
| System | 8.5 kW (90% of 1,210 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $24,325, $20,825 after incentives |
| First-year savings | $1,882 |
| Payback | 11.6 years |
| 25-year net | $28,215 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 271
- Share of customers
- 0.4%
- Residential solar capacity
- 2 MW
- Residential customers
- 69,848
EIA-861, 2025.
Cities served
Questions about Palmetto Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Palmetto Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Palmetto 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 Palmetto Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 14.9¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,210 kWh a month, a bill of about $180.
Is solar worth it with Palmetto Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 8.5 kW system costing about $20,825 pays back in about 11.6 years, with $28,215 net over 25 years.
How many Palmetto Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 271 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.4% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Palmetto Electric Coop Inc (EIA ID 14398). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.