Typical customer: Close call

Three Rivers Electric Cooperative and solar

Three Rivers Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 22,757 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.)
13.7¢2% below Missouri average
Typical bill
$1611,175 kWh a month
Exports credited
~33%Avoided-cost export credit
Typical payback
15.6 yrs8 kW, cash

Export rules for Three Rivers Electric Cooperative 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 Three Rivers Electric Cooperative home

System8 kW (80% of 1,175 kWh/month)
Cost$22,300
First-year savings$1,523
Payback15.6 years
25-year net$15,344

Uses the utility's average price.

Solar adoption

Homes with solar (2025)
158
Share of customers
0.7%
Residential solar capacity
2 MW
Residential customers
22,757

EIA-861, 2025.

Questions about Three Rivers Electric Cooperative and solar

Does Three Rivers Electric Cooperative have net metering?

Three Rivers Electric Cooperative 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 Three Rivers Electric Cooperative?

Residential customers paid an average of 13.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 13.7¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,175 kWh a month, a bill of about $161.

Is solar worth it with Three Rivers Electric Cooperative?

For a typical customer, solar is a close call: a 8 kW system costing about $22,300 pays back in about 15.6 years, with $15,344 net over 25 years.

How many Three Rivers Electric Cooperative customers have solar?

About 158 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.7% of residential customers (EIA-861).

Legal name: Three Rivers Electric Coop (EIA ID 16751). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.