Georgia Power Solar Buyback Program: What Homeowners Need to Know

Georgia Power's solar buyback program governs the rate structure and compensation terms under which residential solar customers sell surplus electricity back to the utility grid. The program operates under tariff schedules approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission (Georgia PSC) and differs materially from net metering frameworks used in other states. Understanding the precise mechanics — including rate distinctions, interconnection thresholds, and eligibility conditions — is essential for accurately projecting the financial performance of a rooftop solar installation in Georgia.

• Definition and Scope
• Core Mechanics or Structure
• Causal Relationships or Drivers
• Classification Boundaries
• Tradeoffs and Tensions
• Common Misconceptions
• Checklist or Steps
• Reference Table or Matrix

Definition and Scope

Georgia Power's solar buyback program is the commercial mechanism by which the utility compensates residential customers who generate surplus photovoltaic electricity beyond their on-site consumption. The program is structured under Georgia Power's Rate Schedule SOLR (Solar Purchase Rider), a tariff instrument filed with and approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission under O.C.G.A. § 46-2-26, which grants the PSC authority over electric utility rates in the state.

The program is distinct from traditional net metering. Under net metering, surplus kilowatt-hours (kWh) are credited at the full retail electricity rate. Georgia Power's buyback program instead compensates surplus generation at a rate that the Georgia PSC sets through periodic rate proceedings — a rate that has historically fallen below the standard residential retail rate. For the 2023 rate year, Georgia Power's residential retail energy rate was approximately 10–12 cents per kWh depending on monthly usage tier (Georgia Power Rate Schedule R, Georgia PSC filing), while the avoided-cost-based export rate under SOLR has been lower.

Scope and coverage limitations: This page covers compensation structures applicable to Georgia Power residential customers within Georgia Power's service territory. Georgia Power does not serve the entire state — Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) and municipal utilities serve portions of Georgia and operate under separate buyback or net metering tariffs not governed by this program. Federal programs — including interconnection standards under FERC Order 2222 and federal investment tax credit rules — intersect with but are not defined by the Georgia Power SOLR tariff. This page does not constitute legal, financial, or engineering advice and does not apply to commercial-scale or utility-scale installations.

Core Mechanics or Structure

Georgia Power's Rate Schedule SOLR applies to residential customers with rooftop solar systems up to 10 kilowatts (kW) AC nameplate capacity. Systems above 10 kW AC fall under different commercial tariff structures and are outside the residential SOLR scope.

Billing mechanism: Under SOLR, the customer's meter tracks both consumption (energy drawn from the grid) and export (surplus energy pushed to the grid). At the end of each billing cycle, Georgia Power bills the customer for net consumption at the standard retail rate and applies a separate credit for exported kilowatt-hours at the approved export rate. These two transactions are not offset dollar-for-dollar as they would be under true net metering — consumption and export are priced at different rates.

Export rate determination: The Georgia PSC determines the export credit rate through rate case proceedings. The export rate is typically calculated using an avoided-cost methodology — reflecting what Georgia Power would otherwise pay to procure the equivalent generation from another source — rather than the full retail rate. This structural distinction is the single largest driver of payback period calculations for Georgia homeowners, as explored further in solar ROI and payback period analysis for Georgia.

Interconnection requirement: Before any surplus electricity can flow to the grid and generate buyback credits, homeowners must complete Georgia Power's interconnection approval process. This involves submitting a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) interconnection application, passing a technical review, installing a bi-directional meter (supplied by Georgia Power), and receiving a Permission to Operate (PTO) letter. The full interconnection framework is governed by Georgia Power's tariff and aligns with IEEE Standard 1547-2018, which establishes technical requirements for distributed energy resources connecting to electric power systems. For a broader treatment of interconnection requirements, see Georgia utility interconnection requirements.

Monthly vs. annual settlement: SOLR credits do not roll over month-to-month as banking credits. Surplus export credits earned in a given billing cycle offset that cycle's bill. Unused credits do not accumulate into subsequent months, which structurally disadvantages systems sized to produce large seasonal surpluses (common in summer-heavy production profiles).

Causal Relationships or Drivers

The structure of Georgia Power's buyback program reflects a specific regulatory history. Georgia is not a state with a statutory net metering mandate. The Georgia General Assembly has not enacted legislation requiring Georgia Power to credit surplus solar at the full retail rate — a policy contrast with states such as California, where California Public Utilities Code § 2827 established net metering requirements. In the absence of a legislative mandate, the Georgia PSC has approved tariff structures that allow Georgia Power to set export rates through its own rate-case process.

The Georgia Public Service Commission operates as the primary regulatory driver. PSC decisions in Georgia Power's rate cases (most recently Case No. 42310 in 2022, per PSC public records at psc.state.ga.us) establish both the retail rate structure and any modifications to export compensation. Advocacy groups — including the Georgia Solar Energy Association and Vote Solar — have historically intervened in PSC rate cases to argue for higher export rates, with mixed outcomes.

Georgia Power's avoided-cost rate is itself driven by the utility's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a multi-year capacity planning document that projects the utility's need for additional generation. When the IRP shows surplus capacity, avoided costs fall, suppressing the export rate. Georgia Power filed a revised IRP with the PSC in 2022, which influenced the current rate structure.

Classification Boundaries

Georgia Power residential solar customers fall into distinct program categories based on system size, installation date, and tariff election:

SOLR (Rate Schedule SOLR): Residential systems ≤ 10 kW AC. Compensation at the PSC-approved export rate. No retail-rate net metering offset.

Legacy net metering participants (pre-2012): A small number of residential customers who enrolled in earlier Georgia Power pilot programs may hold grandfathered terms. These legacy agreements are not publicly transferable and expire upon system modification or ownership change.

Advanced Solar Initiative (ASI) — Commercial/Industrial: A separate program for larger commercial systems, structured differently from residential SOLR. Residential homeowners do not qualify for ASI terms.

EMC and Municipal Utility Customers: Homeowners served by Georgia's 41 Electric Membership Corporations or municipal utilities such as those in Dalton or Crisp County operate under entirely separate tariffs. Some EMCs offer net metering at retail rates; others offer no buyback at all. The EMC landscape is covered in detail at Georgia EMC solar policies.

Off-grid systems: Homeowners with off-grid solar systems or systems paired exclusively with battery storage and no grid connection fall entirely outside the SOLR framework — no buyback credits apply, and no interconnection application is required.

Tradeoffs and Tensions

The central tension in Georgia Power's buyback program is the gap between retail consumption rates and export credit rates. A homeowner who consumes a kilowatt-hour during peak demand hours pays the full retail rate — including transmission, distribution, and capacity cost components — but exports a kilowatt-hour during midday peak solar production and receives only the avoided-cost rate, which excludes those same non-energy cost components.

This rate asymmetry creates a fundamental sizing incentive: systems should be sized to minimize export rather than maximize production. A system producing precisely enough to offset annual consumption generates greater financial value than an oversized system producing large surpluses that earn the lower export rate. This sizing principle is directly tied to solar energy production estimates for Georgia's climate, since Georgia's high solar irradiance (averaging 4.5–5.5 peak sun hours per day across most of the state) means even modestly sized systems frequently produce daytime surpluses.

The tension extends to battery storage adoption. Solar energy storage and battery systems offer homeowners the ability to store midday surplus for evening use, effectively converting low-value export kilowatt-hours into high-value self-consumption kilowatt-hours. However, the capital cost of battery systems (often $8,000–$15,000 per installed kilowatt-hour of usable capacity, per industry cost benchmarks) extends total system payback periods significantly.

A secondary tension involves time-of-use (TOU) rate adoption. Georgia Power has proposed and in some cases offered optional TOU rate schedules. Under TOU pricing, the value of self-consumption varies by hour, which interacts with solar production curves in complex ways addressed in time-of-use rates and solar optimization in Georgia.

Common Misconceptions

Misconception 1: Georgia Power offers net metering at the retail rate.
Georgia Power does not offer standard net metering. The SOLR tariff compensates exports at an avoided-cost rate below the retail rate. Homeowners who assume retail-rate credit in financial projections will overestimate bill savings.

Misconception 2: Unused solar credits roll over indefinitely.
SOLR credits apply only within the billing cycle in which they are generated. There is no annual true-up mechanism analogous to California's net energy metering annual settlement. Overproduction in June does not offset consumption in December.

Misconception 3: Any licensed electrician can interconnect a solar system with Georgia Power.
Georgia Power's interconnection process requires submission of engineering documentation — typically signed and sealed drawings — and the installer must coordinate with Georgia Power's distribution engineering group. The electrical work itself must comply with NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code) and pass inspection by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) — typically the county or municipal building department. Georgia does not have a single statewide solar licensing requirement, though electricians must hold a valid Georgia state electrical license. See Georgia solar installer licensing requirements for the credential framework.

Misconception 4: The export rate is fixed permanently at installation.
The Georgia PSC can modify export rates through subsequent rate case proceedings. Homeowners who install systems under one rate structure may see the export rate change in future rate cases. SOLR tariff terms do not guarantee a locked-in export rate for the system's operational life.

Misconception 5: Georgia Power's program applies statewide.
Georgia Power serves approximately 2.7 million customers (Georgia Power 2022 Annual Report), but large portions of Georgia — particularly rural counties — are served by EMCs or municipal utilities with different policies.

Checklist or Steps

The following sequence describes the phases a residential Georgia Power customer typically navigates when enrolling in the SOLR buyback program. This is a structural reference, not advisory guidance.

Phase 1: System Design and Permitting
- [ ] Obtain a site assessment to determine system size, roof orientation, and shading factors (solar site assessment concepts)
- [ ] Confirm property falls within Georgia Power's service territory (not an EMC or municipal utility)
- [ ] Size system at or below 10 kW AC for residential SOLR eligibility
- [ ] Obtain building permit from the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (county or municipal building department)
- [ ] Confirm system design meets Georgia building code and energy code requirements

Phase 2: Interconnection Application
- [ ] Submit Georgia Power DER Interconnection Application (available via Georgia Power's website)
- [ ] Provide installer credentials and signed system single-line diagram
- [ ] Await Georgia Power technical review (standard review timeline for systems ≤ 10 kW is typically 15 business days per FERC Small Generator Interconnection Procedures)
- [ ] Receive approval or respond to any technical deficiency notice

Phase 3: Installation and Inspection
- [ ] Complete physical installation per NEC 2020 (or the code edition adopted by the AHJ) and IEEE 1547-2018 interconnection standards
- [ ] Schedule and pass local AHJ inspection (electrical and structural)
- [ ] Submit inspection approval documentation to Georgia Power

Phase 4: Meter Upgrade and PTO
- [ ] Georgia Power installs bi-directional net meter (no customer cost for meter exchange under current tariff)
- [ ] Receive Permission to Operate (PTO) letter from Georgia Power
- [ ] Confirm SOLR tariff enrollment on first post-activation bill

Phase 5: Ongoing Monitoring
- [ ] Review monthly bill for both consumption charges and export credit line items
- [ ] Monitor system production via inverter or dedicated monitoring system (solar monitoring systems in Georgia)
- [ ] Retain all interconnection approval documents for insurance and property disclosure purposes (solar insurance considerations)

Reference Table or Matrix

The following matrix compares Georgia Power's SOLR program against adjacent compensation structures relevant to Georgia homeowners:

For a comprehensive overview of how solar energy systems function within the Georgia grid, see how Georgia solar energy systems work. The full Georgia Power SOLR tariff and rate case history are publicly accessible through the Georgia PSC electronic docketing system. For a broader orientation to solar investment in the state, the Georgia Solar Authority home resource provides structured access to supporting reference pages covering financing, incentives, and installation standards.

References

• Georgia Public Service Commission — Rate Cases and Tariff Filings
• Georgia General Assembly — O.C.G.A. § 46-2-26 (PSC Rate Authority)
• Georgia Power — Solar Interconnection Program
• Georgia Power — Annual Report 2022
• IEEE Standard 1547-2018 — Standard for Interconnection and Interoperability of Distributed Energy Resources
• [NFPA 70