Naperville Electric Utility · Illinois

How Naperville Electric Utility credits home solar

What your reps need to know about Naperville Electric Utility 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

The Naperville Electric Utility, owned by the City of Naperville and run by its Department of Public Utilities, Electric, serves residents and businesses in Naperville and had 63,747 customers as of January 2026.

Energy Credits for Self Supply Electric Utility Customers

How Naperville Electric Utility credits exports

The Naperville Electric Utility credits home solar under Section 8-1C-4, subsection 14, of the Naperville Municipal Code, which gives a self supply customer one kilowatt hour of credit for each kilowatt hour of excess energy the system sends to the city's distribution system.
Those credits offset only the electric energy part of the monthly City of Naperville utility bill, not the utility's meter fee, its demand charge or amounts owed to other city utilities.
Unused credits carry forward month to month, and any credits not used by March 31 expire, with the city paying for expired credits each April at the expired excess energy credit purchase rate in its rate schedule, which the city describes as its avoided cost rate.
The city says the net metering policy it updated in April 2025 applies to all solar generating customers in the city and requires a new Interconnection Agreement, and city code applies the same rules to customers whose systems were connected before the current section took effect.
Illinois law, 220 ILCS 5/17-900, lets municipal utilities set their own self generation and crediting policies, which may reasonably differ from the net metering rules in Article XVI of the Public Utilities Act, but gives customers the right to fair credit for excess energy.
Renewable energy credits produced by the system belong to the customer, and the city is not required to buy them.

The rule behind it

Illinois Public Utilities Act, customer self generation of electricity (municipal systems and electric cooperatives), 220 ILCS 5/17-900

The program

Energy Credits for Self Supply Electric Utility Customers, Naperville Municipal Code 8-1C-4:14

Recent changes

The City of Naperville says it updated its net metering policy in April 2025, applying it to all solar customers and requiring each to sign a new Interconnection Agreement. Public Act 104-0458, effective June 1, 2026, added a rule to 220 ILCS 5/17-900 that bars municipal utilities from requiring solar customers to name the utility as an additional insured or to carry a minimum liability limit when the system meets the interconnection agreement's safety standards and the installer is licensed and carries the commercial liability coverage the law specifies.

Before a home connects

Limits, and the steps to get connected

Limits and eligibility

City code limits a customer's renewable energy facility to 1 MW AC nameplate and requires it to be intended primarily to offset the customer's own electricity use on that premises, as determined by the utility, and the city says its 2025 policy otherwise removed size restrictions for such systems.
The city's self supply rules cover systems the customer owns or leases for a fixed monthly fee, not systems billed by the kilowatt hour.
Illinois law gives residential and small commercial customers of municipal utilities the right to interconnect renewable systems sized up to and including 25 kW AC.
The utility may withhold, delay or deny approval, or disconnect a system, if the customer has not signed or has breached the required agreement, if operation may be unsafe, or if the customer owes money to the city.

How a home gets connected

Before any work starts, the installer applies for a solar permit from the city's Transportation, Engineering and Development Business Group through the Permitting, Plans and Licensing Portal, with a site plan, a roof plan with structural information and an electrical plan with a one line diagram, and the city says complete submittals are typically ready for permit issuance within 10 business days.
Homes in the Naperville Historic District whose panels would be visible from a public street first need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission, then the same solar permit.
The customer requests the city's Renewable Energy Interconnection Agreement online, and the city grants interconnection approval only after both the customer and the city have signed it.
The installation then needs at least a rough and a final inspection, which can be requested through the permitting portal, and the agreement calls for a lockable generator disconnect switch mounted next to the meter.
Permission to operate comes after the system passes the final electrical inspection by a City of Naperville electrical inspector, the customer may not start operating without the utility's written authorization, and the utility installs a meter that measures energy flowing both to and from the grid.

Federal tax credit

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

Questions

Common questions about Naperville Electric Utility and solar

Does the Naperville electric utility offer net metering for solar?

Yes. Under city code Section 8-1C-4, each kilowatt hour of excess energy a home's system sends to the city's distribution system earns one kilowatt hour of credit against the electric energy part of the monthly City of Naperville utility bill, while the meter fee, the demand charge and other utility charges are not reduced. Credits carry over month to month until they are used or expire on March 31.

What happens to unused solar credits in Naperville?

Credits left unused by March 31 expire, and the city pays the customer for expired credits each April at the expired excess energy credit purchase rate in its rate schedule, which the city describes as its avoided cost rate. City code says that if a customer owed this payment has moved without telling the utility in writing how to reach them, the utility no longer has to pay it.

Do homes that already have solar in Naperville need a new interconnection agreement?

Yes. The city says its 2025 net metering policy applies to all solar generating customers and requires a new Interconnection Agreement, and city code requires every self supply customer, including those connected before the current rules took effect, to enter into an agreement approved by the utility. The utility may withhold approval of operation or disconnect a system if the required agreement is not in place.

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 Naperville Electric Utility.

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?Illinois: State law limits HOA bans Do solar panels raise your property taxes?Illinois: Exemption in state law