Bill Breakdown: How Solar Credits Slash Your Power Bill
If you're a homeowner in Alberta with solar panels, your electric bill likely looks different than it used to. One standout line item solar homeowners notice is a "Microgen" Credit, a key benefit of Alberta's net billing program that helps homeowners maximize their solar investment. Here's what each charge means and how solar dramatically reduces your monthly costs.
Charges Breakdown
Here's a simplified look at a typical real residential electricity bill for a solar homeowner in Edmonton who used 651 kWh in one billing cycle.
Microgen Credit: −$56.44. This is where the magic happens.
This homeowner exported excess solar energy back to the grid that the home didn't use, and their utility credited them $56.44. That's the essence of net billing in Alberta: your solar panels don't just power your home, they earn you credits when you produce more than you consume.
Final Bill Total: $21.16, an 85% reduction
That's an 85% reduction in electricity costs for this billing cycle, all thanks to solar and net billing. Because Alberta has ridiculously sunny summers, those export credits help offset the shorter days of winter, resulting in lower electric bills year-round.
This is why it's important to have an experienced solar company size your system correctly for your home's usage, so you aren't overpaying for a system that's too big, but you're still generating enough to cover what you need plus a little extra to earn credits.
What Is the Microgen Credit?
When your solar system produces more electricity than your home needs, the extra energy flows back into the grid. Your utility company tracks this and credits you for every kilowatt-hour exported. These credits directly reduce your bill.
In Alberta, this process is called net billing under the Micro-Generation Regulation, and it's one of the fastest ways to offset the cost of going solar.
How Net Billing Accelerates ROI
By generating excess power during sunny spring and summer months and banking credits, many homeowners:
- Offset 60–90% of their annual power costs
- See payback periods drop by 5–10 years depending on usage
- Lock in long-term protection against rising utility rates
Your Home With vs. Without Solar
Over the next decade, you'll spend about $30,000 on electricity whether you choose solar or not. The difference is where that money goes. With solar, you're investing in your own power system instead of endlessly paying your utility company. Post break-even, you pay a near $0 electric bill for 20+ years (plus the fixed grid connection fees), all while protecting yourself from rising energy costs.
Your home without solar energy
- $250 average monthly electricity bill
- 10-Year Cost: $30,000 (assuming no rate increases)
- Continued dependence on utility companies
- No long-term savings or added home value
Your home with solar net billing
- Get MicroGen Credits from net billing
- No upfront cost CEIP solar loan
- Ownership of your power generation system
- 20+ years of low cost electricity after loan payoff
- Protection against future rate hikes
- Energy independence and savings
See These Numbers in a Real Home
Every case study includes the original electricity bill, the solar system specs, production data, and the post-solar bill comparison.
Edmonton Family Cut Their Power Bill to Almost Zero
A 10.35 kW system that took a $206/month bill to a monthly credit for this Edmonton solar installation. Break-even by Year 9.
Airdrie Family Realizes Immediate Savings, CEIP Financed
A 7.2 kW system funded through the CEIP program in Airdrie. This family pays less per month than before solar, from day one.
Beaumont Home: Solar Club Rates Squeeze More From Net Billing
A 6.48 kW rooftop system near Beaumont. See how the Solar Club rate program and CEIP loan lowered their monthly bill from $183.55 to $42.58.
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Across Alberta we've helped over 1,355+ homes and businesses go solar. Our installers service surrounding areas of Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Calgary. The future of the CEIP Loan and net billing solar program is uncertain. Fill out our form today to receive a transparent solar quote personalized to your home and energy costs.