How DTE Electric credits home solar

New DTE solar customers join the Rider 18 Distributed Generation Program, which DTE put in place in 2019 after state law directed the MPSC to phase out net metering. Existing Rider 16 net metering sites convert to Rider 18 at their 10 year anniversary in net metering, and DTE emails those customers about 30 days before the change.

When outflow credits in a billing period exceed the electric charges other than securitization, DTE puts the extra into an excess generation bank that carries forward, does not expire, and can offset those charges on future bills at the same premises. The credits cannot be withdrawn or transferred, and if the customer leaves Rider 18, the tariff applies any remaining credit to future bills for a customer who stays in the home or refunds it to a customer who moves out.

Michigan's 2023 law, PA 235, raised the program cap to 10 percent of a utility's average in state peak load, and DTE's Rider 18 applies that limit to its combined Rider 16 and Rider 18 programs, with at least half reserved for systems of 20 kW or less. The MPSC's October 2025 report, using data through 2024, showed about 87 percent of DTE's allocation for systems of 20 kW or less still unused. DTE must notify the MPSC if the program reaches capacity in any category.

The federal residential clean energy credit, section 25D, ended for home solar expenditures made after December 31, 2025, under the law signed July 4, 2025. The IRS treats the expenditure as made when installation is completed, so a system completed in 2026 does not qualify even if it was paid for earlier.

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