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Virginia Policy

Dominion Energy Solar: Net Metering, Credits and Rates

For a homeowner in Dominion territory, "Dominion Energy solar" comes down to three things: how your exported power is credited, what your bill does next, and who owns the utility a year from now.

By the Go Solar DMV news desk · Nov 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Dominion Energy Solar: Net Metering, Credits and Rates

Key facts

What Dominion Energy solar means for a homeowner in 2026

If you are searching "Dominion Energy solar," the practical question is usually how Dominion credits the power your roof sends back to the grid. The short answer: one-for-one net metering survived. On April 30, 2026, Virginia's State Corporation Commission issued a final order rejecting the most consequential elements of Dominion's proposed "NEM 2.0" overhaul and preserving 1:1 kilowatt-hour net metering across Dominion territory9.

That matters because the alternative was on the table. Dominion had proposed four changes: switching from annual netting to 30-minute interval netting, reducing the export credit from roughly $0.15/kWh to about $0.0955/kWh, claiming customers' SRECs without compensation, and adding application fees of $100 to $7509. The Commission rejected the core of that package911. It had already turned down a similar proposal from Appalachian Power in 20259.

Dominion Energy solar program: how net metering works now

Under the tariff as finalized, one-for-one crediting is kept for solar that offsets your own usage, the 12-month annual netting period stays, and half-hourly netting was rejected11. In plain terms, a kilowatt-hour your panels send out in June can still offset a kilowatt-hour you pull back in December, rather than being valued at a lower rate the moment it leaves your meter.

There are changes at the margins. New customers see a small administrative fee of about $1 a month and a different year-end excess rate than the retail rate they are credited at during the year10. Existing solar customers are fully grandfathered under their current net metering agreements9. If you are sizing a system, the year-end true-up rate and the residential system cap are the two details worth confirming against the current tariff with your installer before you sign, because they determine whether it makes sense to build past your own annual usage.

You can see how the Virginia rules stack up against the rest of the region on our Virginia solar incentives page.

Dominion Energy solar credits: who owns your SRECs

Solar renewable energy certificates are a separate revenue stream from net metering, and Dominion asked to take them. The Commission said no. SRECs remain the property of the customer who generates them9. That means the certificates your system produces are yours to sell or retire, on top of the bill offset you get from net metering.

This was arguably the quietest part of the April order and one of the more valuable. A proposal that claimed customer SRECs without compensation would have removed income from every new rooftop owner in the territory9.

Why Dominion bills are the real driver

Solar competes with the price of utility power, and in Virginia that price is on the record and climbing. A new Dominion annual report states the bill for an average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month is now $180.316. The same report says load growth, mainly from data centers, combined with generation and transmission limits, is creating a power squeeze, and that neighboring regions which historically supplied surplus capacity now face their own resource adequacy problems6.

Rate increases are already approved. The SCC allowed a base rate increase of $11.24 a month for the average residential user beginning January 2026, with an additional $2.36 a month in January 20277. Those were lower than Dominion asked for: the company requested $822 million in 2026 and $345 million in 2027, and the Commission allowed $565.7 million and $209.9 million7.

A separate coal-ash cleanup rider has been proposed to take effect January 1, 2027. Company testimony put the impact at roughly 53 cents a month for a typical 1,000 kWh residential customer8. Check the SCC docket for the current status of that one before budgeting around it.

Dominion Energy solar projects and the NextEra merger

A lot of recent "Dominion Energy solar" news coverage is about ownership, not rooftops. In May 2026, NextEra Energy agreed to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion, aimed at scaling power infrastructure for AI data center demand12. Dominion shareholders would receive 0.8138 NextEra shares per Dominion share plus a one-time aggregate cash payment of approximately $360 million1.

The companies filed applications on July 15, 2026, and said customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina would receive $2.25 billion in shareholder-funded bill credits, with a commitment that merger-related costs will not be passed on to customers3. Required approvals include FERC, the NRC, Hart-Scott-Rodino, the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and the Virginia State Corporation Commission4. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2027, and Virginia evidentiary hearings were not scheduled to begin until November 202645.

Nothing here is final, and none of it changes the net metering rules that were settled in April9. If you are weighing a decision this winter, treat the merger as background noise rather than a reason to wait.

The federal tax credit changed, and that changes the math

The 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit under IRS Section 25D expired on December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 202515. Home battery storage was covered under the same section and expired on the same date20.

Two details still matter. First, the timing rule: per IRS FAQ 7 in FS-2025-05, an expenditure counts as made when installation is completed, so paying in 2025 for a system installed in 2026 does not qualify1619. Second, if you earned the credit on an eligible project before the deadline but could not use the full amount against your federal tax liability, the unused portion can generally be carried forward to future tax years17. Homeowners with qualifying 2025 expenditures claim the credit on their 2025 federal return using IRS Form 569518.

For most DMV homeowners, this means the payback case now rests on net metering, SREC income and the trajectory of the utility bill rather than on a federal rebate. Given what Dominion's own report says about demand and prices, that case is not as weak as the loss of the credit might suggest6. If you want to see what your own roof and usage support, start with a look at your roof or get qualified.

Questions people ask

Does Dominion Energy have a solar panel program for homeowners?

The program most homeowners mean is net metering, which credits the power your panels export. After the SCC's April 30, 2026 final order, Dominion territory keeps one-for-one kilowatt-hour net metering with a 12-month netting period911. New customers pay a small administrative fee of about $1 a month and receive a different rate for excess at year end10.

What are Dominion Energy solar credits worth?

During the year, exported kilowatt-hours offset the ones you consume at a one-for-one rate11. Dominion had proposed cutting the export credit from roughly $0.15/kWh to about $0.0955/kWh, and the Commission rejected that9. Any surplus remaining at the 12-month true-up is credited at a lower rate, so confirm the current figure in the tariff before sizing a system past your own usage1012.

Will the NextEra merger change my solar agreement?

The acquisition is pending, not closed. It was announced in May 2026, applications were filed July 15, 2026, and it is expected to close in the second half of 2027 subject to approvals from FERC, the NRC, Hart-Scott-Rodino, and utility commissions in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia134. Existing solar customers are fully grandfathered under their current net metering agreements9.

Does Dominion Energy solar work the same way in South Carolina?

Dominion serves about 7 million customers across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and net metering terms vary by state13. The April 2026 ruling described here was issued by Virginia's State Corporation Commission and applies to Dominion territory in Virginia9.

Can I still get the 30% federal solar tax credit?

Not for new residential systems. The Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit expired December 31, 2025, and an expenditure only counts when installation is completed, so a 2025 payment for a 2026 install does not qualify1516. Unused credit from an eligible pre-deadline project can generally be carried forward17.

Sources

  1. Proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy by NextEra Energy - en.wikipedia.org
  2. NextEra plans to buy Dominion Energy for $66.8 billion, form biggest U.S. power company as AI demand booms - bicmagazine.com
  3. DOMINION ENERGY, INC - Form 425 - FY2026 - sec.gov
  4. DOMINION ENERGY, INC - Form 425 - FY2026 - sec.gov
  5. Dominion Energy Has a 3.9% Dividend, a Pending NextEra Merger, and AI Demand in Its Backyard. Is the Stock Worth Buying? - tikr.com
  6. Dominion report says electricity prices are going up - princewilliamtimes.com
  7. State OKs gas plant, rate hike, new rules for data centers - princewilliamtimes.com
  8. Dominion Energy requests bill increase as Virginians report higher energy costs - 13newsnow.com
  9. Net Metering Protected in Virginia: SCC's Final Ruling on Dominion's NEM 2.0 - News - business.cvillechamber.com
  10. Dominion Energy’s NEM 2.0 Proposal: What It Means for Solar in Virginia - Virtue Solar - virtuesolar.com
  11. How Net Metering Works in Virginia (2026 Update) - solarenergyworld.com
  12. Solar Panels in Virginia (2026): Cost, Payback, and the New Rules - iamhome.app
  13. Dominion Energy Solar Guide 2026 - solarquestai.com
  14. Virginia Solar Incentives 2026: Net Metering, SRECs & More - nedes.us
  15. Solar Tax Credit in 2026: Why the 30% Federal Credit Ended (and What Replaced It) - solarcostbystate.com
  16. The Residential Solar Tax Credit (§25D) Ended After 2025 - veritastaxcredits.com
  17. Solar Tax Credit 2025: What Changed in 2026? - greenlancer.com
  18. Federal Solar Tax Credit 2026: What Ended, What Remains - greenlancer.com
  19. Residential Clean Energy Credit 2026 Explained - Anker SOLIX US - ankersolix.com
  20. Federal Solar Tax Credit 2026: What Ended, What's Left - greenenergycalc.com

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