Connecticut Solar Buy-All vs. Netting: Which RRES Option Is in Your Savings Estimate?

Two Connecticut solar proposals can show similar equipment and production while calculating very different household benefits. One may assume all solar generation is sold through the Buy-All option. Another may assume the Netting option, where the home uses solar first. If the proposal does not name the arrangement, its savings number is difficult to evaluate.

Connecticut's Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program, or RRES, is administered by Eversource and United Illuminating. PURA identifies it as the program that replaced legacy net metering and the prior residential incentive program for new participation beginning in January 2022. Do not apply this article's 2026 terms to an older enrollment or a municipal utility account.

Buy-All separates production from household purchases

Under Buy-All, solar generation goes to the grid and the home purchases its electricity from the utility. Compensation can be allocated between bill credits and direct payments under the program's beneficiary rules. The 2026 base Buy-All rate is $0.3289 per kWh, including REC value, for eligible applications in that program year. The official program manual describes a 20-year incentive term once enrolled.

The household budget therefore needs both sides of the arrangement: what electricity purchases cost and what compensation actually reaches the household. Do not subtract all solar production from household usage and then also count the full Buy-All payment for that same production. That would mix two different methods in one savings estimate.

Ask for the beneficiary allocation. A program payment assigned elsewhere should not simply appear as cash available to pay your household's solar loan. The private contract may explain the arrangement, but you need to see both documents to understand it.

Netting uses solar at home first

Under Netting, electricity from the system can serve the home, and excess electricity goes to the grid. UI describes dollar bill credits and a compensation value that changes with the prevailing retail rate over the program term. Excess credits carry forward, with cash-out tied to closing electric service.

That means a 20-year participation term is not the same promise as an unchanged retail electricity price. A forecast should explain how future utility prices were modeled. It should also distinguish electricity consumed onsite, net exports, and any separate REC compensation rather than treating all production as an identical cash payment.

The 2026 production adjustment belongs in the calculation

The official 2026.1 program manual, effective January 1, 2026, lists a base Netting REC rate of zero and a $0.0402 per kWh Solar Energy Adjustment / Solar Production Charge for the 2026 cohort. It applies to production measured at the production meter. The manual also specifies use of Standard Service rates for export valuation, including customers using a third-party supplier.

For an illustration, 1,000 kWh of measured production multiplied by $0.0402 gives a $40.20 adjustment. That is not a complete bill or a savings forecast. It excludes the household's utility purchases, credits, any applicable adders, and the solar payment. Using only exported kWh for that calculation would miss the stated production basis.

Ask the installer to show where the adjustment appears in the proposal and how its production assumption was established. If a quote uses a prior year's inputs, request a comparison against the project's actual application cohort. Keep the original quote with the corrected version.

Compare the records before comparing the headline return

The program manual requires a completed customer disclosure form with the application and says it should be presented and signed before entering a solar contract. The Statement of Qualification records project-specific terms. Those documents are central to checking which option and payment structure were selected.

Create a simple reconciliation using the application, qualification statement, beneficiary form, sales forecast, and private agreement. Identify the option, application year, base incentive, applicable adjustment, beneficiary split, and household payment. Mark any item that differs across documents and ask for an explanation.

Do not infer that an option can be changed freely after enrollment. The official materials treat tariff selection as a consequential program choice. Ask the administrator what is permitted for your project before agreeing to a revision based on an assumed switch.

A high production total is not proof of the promised savings

When the equipment is producing but the household cost disappoints, separate production from the financial arrangement. A production app cannot tell you whether a payment went to the designated beneficiary, whether the proper cohort was used, or whether a proposal counted the same benefit twice.

Compare matching periods. Quarterly direct payments, monthly utility statements, and monthly solar payments may arrive on different schedules. Keep dates with the amounts so a timing difference is not mistaken for a missing benefit. At the same time, do not accept timing as an explanation for a charge that the original forecast omitted entirely.

Use Connecticut utility-billing guidance and payment and financing information to organize the issue. Include the program records with the documents for review. You can request a Solar Exit agreement review when the selected arrangement and the sales promise do not line up.

General consumer information, not legal, tax, financial, or electrical advice. Exit Your Solar is not a law firm. Program participation does not guarantee savings. Consult a qualified tax professional about incentive payments and an appropriate professional about your agreement or technical questions.