In one line
Billing arrangement where solar customers receive bill credits for grid-exported electricity, often at the retail rate.
What it means
Net metering credits residential and commercial solar customers for electricity exported to the grid, typically against retail-rate consumption. Most US states and many EU countries operated full retail-rate net metering through the 2010s; the 2020s saw a shift to net billing (lower export rates), net surplus compensation, and time-of-export tariffs. California's NEM 3.0 (2023) is the most-cited example of net metering reform reducing solar export value.
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