Lansing Board of Water & Light · Michigan

How Lansing Board of Water & Light credits home solar

What your reps need to know about Lansing Board of Water & Light before the appointment: how exports are credited, the size limits, and the steps to connect, checked against its own tariffs and the state rules.

Each appointment goes to one company
Only sits count, approved disputes get a replacement
Market facts checked September 26, 2026

The rules

What happens to the solar power a home sends to the grid

BWL, which describes itself as Michigan's largest municipally owned utility, serves around 100,000 residential, business and industrial electric customers throughout the greater Lansing area.

Distributed Generation Program (Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Rider)

How Lansing Board of Water & Light credits exports

The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) is municipally owned, and Michigan's statewide distributed generation program under MCL 460.1173 applies to utilities whose rates the Michigan Public Service Commission regulates and to alternative electric suppliers, while MCL 460.6 excludes municipally owned utilities from the commission's power to regulate public utilities.
BWL instead credits new home solar under its own Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Rider, Rider Code DG, which bills inflow, the energy BWL delivers to the home, at the customer's selected retail rate.
Outflow, the energy the home sends to BWL, is credited on the monthly bill as a reduction, valued at a price BWL lists on its website and updates periodically, and customers who sign a separate agreement to sell their renewable energy credits to BWL receive additional value for outflow.
BWL's older Renewable Energy Net Metering Rider is closed to new customers and cannot be transferred, and customers enrolled when it closed in 2022 may stay on it until the fall of 2032.
Under that older rider, systems of 20 kW or less get true net metering at the full retail energy rate, with excess credit carried forward and, at the end of each calendar year, reset to zero and refunded at the prior year's average locational marginal price at the CONS.LANS node.

The rule behind it

Lansing Board of Water & Light Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Rider, BWL Electric Utility Rates, Rider Code DG, effective October 1, 2025, with the same terms in the FY 2026 to 2027 schedule effective October 1, 2026

The program

Distributed Generation Program (Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Rider), Rider Code DG

Recent changes

BWL's residential rate schedule effective October 1, 2026 carries the same Distributed Generation rider terms as the schedule effective October 1, 2025. Michigan amended its statewide distributed generation law, MCL 460.1173, through 2023 PA 235, effective February 27, 2024, but that program covers utilities whose rates the Michigan Public Service Commission regulates.

Before a home connects

Limits, and the steps to get connected

Limits and eligibility

BWL's Distributed Generation rider lets customers apply for a system of any capacity, but the customer is responsible for the cost of any resulting upgrades to BWL's distribution system, and BWL makes the final determination of the acceptable system size.
BWL selects premises for the program in the order it receives applications, and it may limit systems to certain geographic areas of its service territory depending on infrastructure capacity.
BWL's rules require generating units over 20 kW to connect to its three phase distribution system unless BWL specifically exempts them.
The system must be located on the customer's premises and serve only that premises, and a customer on the rider cannot take part in BWL's Advanced Meter Opt Out Program.

How a home gets connected

Before buying equipment or starting installation, BWL asks customers to contact it to discuss the size of the system they are considering.
Before construction, the contractor submits BWL's Interconnection Application with a site plan, a one line diagram, interconnection protection details and the manufacturers' data for the generator and inverter, and BWL either approves it or returns it with the reasons it was not approved.
Once BWL approves the application, construction may proceed as long as the city or township with local jurisdiction has issued an electrical permit, and the system needs an outdoor, lockable disconnect switch with a visible break near the billing meter that BWL crews can reach.
The contractor gives BWL at least 10 business days of written notice, depending on project size, before the project is ready for inspection and testing, and before the system is energized the customer must prove to BWL that it passed all applicable service upgrade and electrical inspections with the authority having jurisdiction.
BWL's System Integrity Engineer witnesses the commissioning test, after which BWL provides a Contract for Parallel Operation of Renewable Energy Generators, and the rider requires a signed parallel operating agreement and written permission to operate from BWL before the system is switched on.

Federal tax credit

The residential solar credit (section 25D) ended for systems completed after 2025. What that means in 2026.

Questions

Common questions about Lansing Board of Water & Light and solar

Does Michigan's distributed generation program cover Lansing BWL customers?

No. MCL 460.1173 applies Michigan's distributed generation program to electric utilities whose rates the Michigan Public Service Commission regulates and to alternative electric suppliers, and MCL 460.6 excludes municipally owned utilities from the commission's power to regulate public utilities. BWL is municipally owned and credits home solar under its own Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Rider.

How does BWL credit solar power a home sends to the grid?

BWL bills inflow, the energy it delivers to the home, at the customer's selected retail rate and credits outflow, the energy the home sends to BWL, as a reduction on the monthly bill. The outflow value is the price listed on BWL's website, which BWL updates periodically. Customers who sign a separate agreement to sell their renewable energy credits to BWL receive additional value for outflow.

Is there a size limit or cap on solar with Lansing BWL?

BWL's Distributed Generation rider lets customers apply for a system of any capacity, but the customer pays for any resulting upgrades to BWL's distribution system and BWL makes the final determination of the acceptable size. BWL's rules also require units over 20 kW to connect to its three phase system unless BWL exempts them. In October 2024 BWL told the Lansing City Council that it has no cap on the amount of customer owned solar that can be installed in its service territory.

Is there still a federal tax credit for home solar?

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.

Questions from solar companies and reps

What am I buying?

Preset appointments with homeowners in your territory who agreed to a solar consultation. We confirm they own the home and that every decision maker on the title will be there, book a time that fits your calendar, and send you the details.

What counts as a sit?

A sit means the owner of the home is there, every decision maker on the title is there, and the visit happens at the booked time or a new time the homeowner and your team agree on. If one does not sit, your team has 48 hours after the visit time to dispute it with a reason. An approved dispute earns a replacement appointment, never a cash refund.

Are the appointments exclusive?

Yes. Each appointment goes to one company only and is never sold twice.

Sources (checked September 26, 2026)

Tariffs and programs change, so confirm current terms with Lansing Board of Water & Light.

What your reps will get asked

Is the federal solar tax credit still available in 2026?No, not for a home solar system completed in 2026.Can an HOA stop you from installing solar panels?Michigan: State law limits HOA bans Do solar panels raise your property taxes?Michigan: Partial or limited exemption