Arizona Solar Export Rate Cut 2026: APS 5.55 Cents, 10-Year Lock

Short answer

The 2026 APS rate is $0.05554 per kWh for interconnection applications from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027. The 2025 rate was $0.06171.
Your rate is set by the year you apply and locked for 10 years from interconnection. After 10 years it follows whatever the current rate is.
The catch: the system must be installed and approved within 180 days of the application (270 days if APS or a third party causes the delay). Ask your installer what happens if they miss it.
The cut each year is capped at 10 percent, so expect another step down for new customers each September.

How Arizona pays for exported solar

Arizona's large utilities stopped offering traditional net metering to new customers in 2017. Instead, APS pays for exported power under its Resource Comparison Proxy rider (RCP), a set price per kWh rather than a credit at your full retail rate. Power you use yourself as the panels produce it still saves you the full retail price; only the excess you send to the grid is paid at the export rate. That is why self-consumption, and batteries, matter more in Arizona than in a full net metering state.

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) resets the export rate each year. APS's rider says each new rate, or "tranche," takes effect September 1 and that "the RCP rate may not be reduced by more than 10% each year." UNS Electric customers got the same 10 percent cut in 2026; Tucson Electric Power's export rate is now $0.0462 per kWh for interconnection requests from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, also locked for up to 10 years, according to TEP.

Seven straight cuts

APS tranche	Applies to applications	Export rate per kWh	Source
2018	2018 tranche	$0.129	PV Tech
2025	2025-09-01 to 2026-08-31	$0.06171	APS Rider RCP
2026	2026-09-01 to 2027-08-31	$0.05554	APS Rider RCP (Decision No. 82122)

The ACC approved the 2026 cut on August 12, 2026. According to PV Tech, APS had asked for a 36.8 percent cut, which the 10 percent annual limit reduced, and the rate has fallen about 57 percent since 2018. Solar advocates asked the Commission to pause the reduction; it approved the maximum cut instead. PV Tech also reported that the Arizona Court of Appeals struck down a monthly charge of $2 to $3 that had been added to residential solar customers' bills in 2024.

The 10-year lock and the 180-day clock

APS's rider sets your export rate by the tranche in effect when your interconnection application is submitted, and that rate "applies for 10 years" from interconnection. Two conditions decide whether you actually get it:

The application date, not the contract date. An application submitted August 31, 2026 got $0.06171. One submitted September 1 got $0.05554.
The 180-day install window. The system must be installed and approved within 180 days of the application, or 270 days if APS or a third party causes the delay. A contract that does not say what happens if the installer blows that window leaves the risk with you.

After 10 years, your export credit follows whatever rate is in effect that year. A proposal that assumes today's rate for 25 years overstates savings from year 11 on. If you move the system to a different site, you lose the 10-year lock.

The summer sales rush, and what to check

Because the rate drops every September, sales teams push hardest in Arizona in July and August. The pitch is not false: applying before September 1 does lock a higher rate. What to check before signing:

Ask for the interconnection application submission date in writing, and a copy of the application.
Ask what the installer will do if the system is not installed and approved within 180 days.
Ask for the proposal's export rate and how many years it assumes it. More than 10 years at today's rate is a red flag.
Ask how much of the system's output is exported versus used in the home. The higher the export share, the more the September cuts hurt.
Do not accept a 30 percent tax credit in the math. The federal homeowner credit ended for expenditures after December 31, 2025. What changed, and why leases dominate now.

Promised a rate or savings you are not getting? Tell us what happened. We pass requests to an independent consumer attorney at no charge to you; the attorney decides whether you have a case.

Buying or selling an Arizona solar home

For an Arizona solar home, the export arrangement is part of the price. For a newer APS system, get the RCP tranche and interconnection date to see how many years of the lock remain. For an older APS system on the pre-2017 net metering plan, that grandfathering runs 20 years from interconnection and stays with the home only if the buyer keeps the same APS rate plan; picking a different plan when starting service gives it up. APS's RCP rider does not address a home sale directly, so confirm the transfer with APS in writing for the specific account. What transfers at resale, by state.

FAQ

What is the APS solar export rate in 2026?

$0.05554 per kWh for interconnection applications submitted from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027, down 10 percent from $0.06171.

How long is my Arizona solar export rate locked?

Under APS's Rider RCP, the rate in effect when you submit your interconnection application applies for 10 years from interconnection. After that, your export credit follows the rate in effect each year.

Will the Arizona export rate drop again?

APS's rider allows a reduction of up to 10 percent each year, with new rates taking effect September 1. The rate has been cut seven years in a row.

What happens if my installer is slow?

APS's rider requires the system to be installed and approved within 180 days of the application, or 270 days if APS or a third party causes the delay. Ask your installer in writing what happens if they miss it.

Does the export rate transfer when I sell my home?

APS's RCP rider does not address a home sale directly. For older systems on APS's pre-2017 net metering, grandfathering stays with the home if the buyer keeps the same rate plan. Confirm with APS in writing for the specific account.

Sources

General information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm the current rate and your account's terms with your utility.

Arizona's solar export rate drops every September. What the 2026 cut means, how the 10-year lock really works, and why your installer's timing matters.