What changed
SMUD raised the payment for extra solar power from 7.4 cents to 9.6 cents for each kilowatt-hour on June 1, 2026. A kilowatt-hour is one small unit on your power bill. This payment is for solar power your home does not use and does not save in a battery. The new payment is the same at every time of day and in every season. This is good news for many newer Sacramento solar homes. But it is only one part of the bill. Your home still pays more for power during busy evening hours.
Use it first, then send it
Solar power is most useful when it runs something in your home right away. It can run the air conditioner, dishwasher, pool pump, or car charger while the sun is up. Extra solar can go to a home battery. Only power left after that goes to the grid. SMUD says homes on its Solar and Storage Rate get the 9.6-cent payment for exports. That is not the same as getting back every cent you may pay later for grid power. A seller should show this difference in the savings plan.
Evening use still matters
SMUD keeps its Time-of-Day rate for homes on the Solar and Storage Rate. In plain words, the price changes by the hour. The utility says families can lower bills by moving use away from the 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. peak window, when power costs more. A battery may help by saving daytime solar for that evening window. It can also help in an outage if the system is built for backup. But a battery is not a free add-on. Ask for the battery price, its backup plan, and the bill estimate with and without it.
Old and new solar rules
SMUD says many homes approved for solar or storage before March 1, 2022 can stay on the older net-energy rate until the end of 2030. A new battery, a larger solar system, a major system change, or moving to another solar home can change the rate path. SMUD also says an old-rate customer can add a battery and keep the old rate, but then will not get the utility's battery-program incentives. This is a choice to price carefully. Do not let anyone say every old solar home should switch.
Battery program tradeoff
SMUD says its My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program can offer a one-time battery enrollment incentive, with a deadline tied to utility permission to operate. The program may also use a battery to help the grid at busy times. A virtual power plant is a group of home batteries that the utility can call on. Before joining, ask how often events can happen, how much backup charge stays for your family, and how the payment works. The state energy filing lists SMUD's home-battery program as a load-flexibility program, not a promise that every battery is right for every home.
Simple homeowner checklist
Check whether you are on SMUD's old net-energy rate or the Solar and Storage Rate. Ask what your solar power is worth when sent out and what you pay from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Move simple tasks into sunny hours before buying new gear. If you want a battery, ask what stays on during an outage. Ask if a system change moves you to a new rate. Ask if an incentive means the utility can use the battery. Keep the solar and battery prices separate. Ask for the savings math with no old homeowner federal tax credit added to a new 2026 project.
