Southside Electric Cooperative and solar
Southside Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 57,305 homes in Virginia. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 16.7¢1% above Virginia average
- Typical bill
- $1941,162 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- RetailFull retail net metering
- Typical payback
- 12 yrs10.1 kW, cash
Export rules for Southside Electric Cooperative customers
Full retail net metering (Virginia rule).
Virginia keeps 1:1 net metering with annual netting for Dominion and Appalachian Power. Solar offsets your usage at retail and credits roll over for 12 months; only surplus left at year end is paid at a low rate (Dominion ~5.8 c/kWh under the 2026 'NEM 2.0').
Solar for a typical Southside Electric Cooperative home
| System | 10.1 kW (100% of 1,162 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $28,245 |
| First-year savings | $2,254 |
| Payback | 12.0 years |
| 25-year net | $42,067 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 770
- Share of customers
- 1.3%
- Residential solar capacity
- 7 MW
- Residential customers
- 57,305
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Southside Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Southside Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Southside Electric Cooperative follows Virginia's rules: Virginia keeps 1:1 net metering with annual netting for Dominion and Appalachian Power. Solar offsets your usage at retail and credits roll over for 12 months; only surplus left at year end is paid at a low rate (Dominion ~5.8 c/kWh under the 2026 'NEM 2.0').
How much does electricity cost with Southside Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 15.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 16.7¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,162 kWh a month, a bill of about $194.
Is solar worth it with Southside Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 10.1 kW system costing about $28,245 pays back in about 12 years, with $42,067 net over 25 years.
How many Southside Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 770 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 1.3% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Southside Electric Coop, Inc (EIA ID 21244). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.