Pioneer Supports Solar

Residential Solar And Pioneer

Are you a Pioneer residential customer interested in switching to solar? Do you have a solar array on your residence and want to learn more about Pioneer’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) program? Pioneer is committed to being a resource for residential solar customers through every stage of the process, from understanding the potential residential solar savings, solar panel and system installation to understanding your energy bill and Net Energy Metering. Learn more about Pioneers NEM Policy.

The California Public Utilities Commission and Pioneer Community Energy advises all residents who are considering solar to review the Solar Consumer Guide to learn more.

Benefits Of Pioneer’s NEM Program

With Net Energy Metering, solar power generation credits are applied at the retail rate against the total amount of electricity consumed each month.
Pioneer pays $.005 (1/2 cent) per kWh more than PG&E for any over-production sold back to the grid (Net Surplus Compensation Rate or NSC). See Pioneer’s current NSC rate.
Unused solar generation credits rollover, from month to month.
Pioneer bills for net electricity used, monthly, as opposed to annually.
Consumers with a cumulative net surplus of energy (Net Surplus Generators) receive checks during the March/April billing period if their credit balance for the past 12 months exceeds $25 – Credit balances less than $25 will be rolled forward onto the next bill.

Solar Power And Pioneer Enrollment

Eligible solar customers can return to Pioneer at any time. When a solar customer enrolls with Pioneer Community Energy, PG&E will set the renewed annual true-up date to align with the transition date to Pioneer.

Pioneer Pays For Solar Power

Once a year, during the March/April billing cycle, Pioneer cashes out Net Surplus Generators with balances of $25 or more. A Net Surplus Generator is a Net Energy Metering (NEM) customer who has generated more electricity over the past 12 months than they’ve used. Net Surplus Generators receive Net Surplus Compensation at the current listed rate. If the value of your Net Surplus Generation is $25 or more, Pioneer will send you a check. If the value of your Net Surplus Generation is less than $25, Pioneer will credit your next bill.

A Net Consumer is a NEM customer who uses more electricity than they generated over the previous 12 months. Each month, Pioneer will apply the kWh generated to offset the kWh consumed, at the full retail rate. The remaining generation consumed will be billed monthly at Pioneer’s stable and competitive rate.

No More Large Annual Electric Generation True-ups!

With Pioneer, you can say goodbye to big, annual electric generation true-up bills by paying monthly when your consumption exceeds your generation. For more information about PG& E’s annual true-up reconciliations you can visit this resource page.

Net Energy Metering (NEM) Rates

A customer of Pioneer is also a customer of PG&E, for transmission and distribution. As such, when a customer enrolls in Pioneer, they keep their current PG&E rate.

Customers maintain their grandfathered NEM rate for PG&E transmission and delivery service, so your grandfathered NEM rate remains unchanged, and you will receive the benefit of Pioneer’s more stable, competitive generation rates when you are not producing adequate power.

Solar Power Generation And Utility Billing

For an individualized bill analysis, please call the Pioneer offices at (916) 758-8969. To learn more about solar and your bill, please visit the Understanding Your Solar Bill page.

Claim Earned PG&E energy credits when enrolling with Pioneer

You must apply with PG&E to request payment for any unused energy credits you have at the time of enrolling with Pioneer. To apply, please call PG&E at 1 (877) 743-4112 or follow the instructions contained in your true-up statement.

For questions or additional information on your solar energy production, net energy metering or anything about your energy bill, please contact your Pioneer Community Energy team by email at info@pioneercommunityenergy.org and by phone at (916) 758-8969 or 1 (844) YES-PIONEER.

For Frequently Asked Questions about solar with Pioneer, please visit our FAQ page.