California NEM 3.0 Guide (2026)
Published 2026-02-20 · Updated 2026-07-07 · MySunROI Research Team
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California’s NEM 3.0 (net billing) tariff cut the value of daytime exports versus classic 1:1 retail net metering. Imports in many IOU territories still sit near or above $0.28–$0.40/kWh all-in — so solar remains a bill hedge, but the sizing and battery playbook changed. MySunROI’s California cost page assumes you care about self-consumption first, export pennies second.
What NEM 3.0 changed in plain numbers
Export compensation tracks avoided-cost style rates that are often a fraction of retail, especially midday when solar fleets glut the grid. Your import rate when the house draws from the utility at night remains high. That spread is why a West-facing or battery-backed design can beat a blindly oversized south array that dumps cheap kWh at noon.
Grandfathering rules for earlier NEM versions are specific to interconnection date — do not assume a neighbor’s tariff is yours. Read the IOU tariff book or have the installer put the tariff name on the proposal.
Strategy that still clears payback
Size closer to annual consumption (often 80–100%) rather than “cover the whole roof.” Shift loads midday when possible. Model a battery if evening peaks dominate your bill — storage under NEM 3.0 is frequently an arbitrage / self-use tool, not just outage insurance. Stack the 30% federal ITC on eligible battery cost when rules allow.
- Anchor quotes to $/W and annual kWh, not vague “% offset” slides
- Stress-test savings with low export credit assumptions
- California solar costs
- TOU + solar
- Battery cost guide
Solar costs by state
Frequently Asked Questions
Is solar still worth it in California?
Often yes — high import rates and the ITC still support ROI for right-sized systems; oversized export-heavy designs are weaker under NEM 3.0.
Do I need a battery?
Not mandatory, but batteries improve self-use when evening TOU peaks are expensive and exports are cheap.