Does plug-in solar lower the fixed charges on my electricity bill?
No. Plug-in solar lowers the part of your bill that moves with how much electricity you use, and leaves the fixed part alone.
Many US utilities bill you in two pieces. One is a fixed charge you pay simply for being connected. It covers the meter, the wires and the customer programs your state requires, and it does not change with your usage. The other is a per-kilowatt-hour price for every unit of electricity that crosses your meter into the house. Plug-in solar, a panel you mount on a balcony, fence or patio and plug into an ordinary outdoor outlet, reduces the second one only.
You are not billed for the solar power your own home uses, because it never reaches the meter. But if your fixed charge is $24 a month, it is still $24 a month after the panels go up. Measure your savings against the per-kilowatt-hour part of the bill, not the total.
Where the fixed charge shows up on your bill
The name varies by utility. You will see it as a customer charge, a basic service charge, a service availability charge, or, at PG&E, a Base Services Charge. It usually sits near the top of the bill breakdown, either as a flat monthly amount or as a daily rate multiplied by the number of days in the billing cycle. Everything below it that is priced per kilowatt-hour is the part your panels move.
The math, on one real tariff
PG&E's Schedule E-TOU-C, effective 1 June 2026, sets the standard Base Services Charge at $0.79343 a day. Over a 30-day billing cycle:
$0.79343 x 30 days = $23.80
That $23.80 is the same whether your panels produce nothing or produce all day. PG&E applies lower levels to customers on CARE, on FERA, and in deed-restricted affordable housing.
Now the other line, in round numbers. Say your kit offsets 40 kWh in a month and you pay 40 cents a kilowatt-hour:
40 kWh x $0.40 = $16.00
A $120 bill becomes about $104. The $23.80 does not move. Your own numbers will be different; the point is which line responds to the panels and which one does not.
What this means when you size a kit
Because the fixed charge does not respond to anything you do on the balcony, the entire return on a kit comes from the kilowatt-hours you displace. Three things decide it: your rate per kilowatt-hour, how much sun your spot gets, and how much of your electricity you use in daylight. Our savings calculator uses your local rate and sunlight to put a number on it.
Frequently asked questions
Am I charged for the solar power my own home uses?
No. Your meter measures electricity crossing the boundary between the grid and your home. Power your panels make and your home consumes in the same moment never crosses that boundary, so there is nothing to bill.
Can I get rid of the fixed charge by generating all my own power?
No. It applies for as long as you are connected to the grid, and plug-in solar is built to work alongside grid supply rather than replace it. A kit shuts itself down when the grid goes down, which is a required safety feature rather than a shortcoming. We cover that in does plug-in solar work during a power outage.
My utility lowered its per-kWh price and added a fixed charge. Does that change what my panels are worth?
Yes. Each kilowatt-hour you generate and use is worth exactly the retail price you avoid paying, so when that price falls, the saving per kilowatt-hour falls with it. PG&E moved to this structure in March 2026. If your utility restructures its rates, re-run your numbers with the new per-kilowatt-hour price rather than the old one.
Do I need a net metering agreement for this to work?
Not to offset your own use. You would need one to be paid for surplus you send to the grid, and most plug-in solar owners do not have one. See what happens to the solar power my home doesn't use.
Does the fixed charge mean plug-in solar is not worth it?
It means your bill will not reach zero. Whether a kit pays off depends on the per-kilowatt-hour half of the bill, which is where the savings come from. How much can plug-in solar save you walks through the range.