APS Solar: Net Billing, the RCP Export Credit, and What It Saves in 2026

Arizona Public Service is Arizona’s largest investor-owned utility, serving much of the Phoenix metro and large parts of the state. If APS is your electric company, going solar here works differently than the full-retail net metering many people expect, because APS credits the power you send back to the grid at a below-retail export rate, not at the price you pay for power. This guide covers the one thing that decides your APS solar math: how net billing and the Resource Comparison Proxy (RCP) export credit work, plus the grid access charge, the incentives that still apply in 2026, and a Phoenix-area payback estimate you can sanity-check against your own bill. For the statewide picture across all three major utilities, start with our Arizona solar guide.

Updated August 2026 with the current APS RCP export credit, the grid access charge and its 2026 court challenge, and the federal tax-credit change.

APS uses net billing, not net metering

The single most important thing to know about APS solar is that Arizona ended full-retail net metering, and APS replaced it with net billing. Under net billing, the solar you use inside your home the moment your panels make it offsets power at the retail rate, but any surplus you export to the grid is credited at a lower, utility-set rate called the Resource Comparison Proxy (RCP) (APS Rate Rider RCP, A.C.C. No. 6241, as of August 2026). This came out of the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Value-of-Solar case, decided as Decision No. 75859 in January 2017. Homeowners who already had net metering were grandfathered onto the old terms; every new APS solar system goes on net billing. For how the underlying mechanism works, see our explainer on how net metering and net billing credit your solar exports.

The APS export credit is well below the retail rate, and it locks in when you interconnect. APS sets a new RCP rate for each annual “tranche” of solar customers, effective September 1. The current Tranche 2025 rate is about 6.17 cents per kWh and applies to systems interconnected between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026 (APS RCP tariff, as of August 2026). Once you interconnect, your export rate is locked for 10 years and, by rule, cannot fall more than 10% a year. The next reset is September 1, 2026, and APS has proposed a lower rate for the new tranche, so if you are close, the tranche you land in changes your credit. Confirm the current figure with APS before you sign.

How the APS export credit compares to retail, and to SRP and TEP

The gap between what you pay for power and what APS pays you for exports is the whole story. The table puts the APS RCP credit next to Arizona’s roughly 15.48 cent retail rate (EIA, as of April 2026) and next to the other two major Arizona utilities, so you can see where APS sits. Treat every rate as a dated snapshot, because each utility sets its own on its own schedule.

Utility	Who it serves	Current export credit	Key terms
APS	Phoenix metro (by address) and much of Arizona	~6.17 cents/kWh (APS RCP tariff)	Locked 10 years from interconnection; cannot fall more than 10% a year; next reset September 1, 2026
TEP	Tucson and most of southern Arizona	~5.13 cents/kWh (TEP RCP)	Locked up to 10 years; cannot fall more than 10% a year
SRP	Phoenix metro (by address)	Export Price Plan, about 3.45 cents/kWh fixed (SRP Customer Generation)	SRP is self-governed, not ACC-regulated; sets its own solar price plans

Export credits as of August 2026 from each utility’s own tariff or price-plan page. The Phoenix metro is split between APS and SRP by address, so confirm which utility serves you. Verify the current figure with your utility before you sign.

Here is our own read on what that gap means for an APS home. According to MySolarFY’s analysis (as of August 2026), on APS a kilowatt-hour you use inside your Phoenix home is worth about 2.5 times one you export, because APS credits exports at roughly 6.17 cents against a retail rate near 15.48 cents. That ratio, not a high power bill, is the reason self-consumption drives the APS solar case: run the air conditioner and pool pump in daylight, or add a home battery, and more of your production stays on the valuable side of the meter.

The APS grid access charge for solar customers

APS also applies a monthly grid access charge to residential solar customers, based on the size of your system. On the time-of-use rate plans that solar customers use, it runs roughly $0.21 to $0.25 per kW-DC of panels each month, so a 7 kW system pays about $1.50 to $1.75 a month (APS tariff, ACC docket E-01345A-22-0144, as of August 2026). One important caveat: a June 2026 Arizona Court of Appeals decision found process problems with how this charge was approved and sent it back to the Arizona Corporation Commission, so its future is unsettled and the amount could change or be removed (Solar Power World, as of June 2026). Verify the current grid access charge and your rate plan directly with APS before you budget, because it is in flux.

Arizona incentives that still apply to APS customers in 2026

Your utility sets the export credit, but the state incentives are the same statewide, and they go to whoever owns the system. An APS homeowner who buys solar can claim Arizona’s own credit and two tax exemptions. On a lease or PPA, the company that owns the panels keeps them. The deep walkthrough lives on our Arizona solar incentives guide.

Program	Applies for APS customers?	What it does
Arizona Residential Solar Energy Credit	Yes	25% of system cost, capped at $1,000 per residence, nonrefundable with a 5-year carryforward, on Form 310 (ARS 43-1083; AZDOR)
Solar equipment sales-tax exemption	Yes	Qualifying solar energy devices are exempt from Arizona’s transaction privilege (sales) tax, with no cap (ARS 42-5061)
Energy-equipment property-tax exemption	Yes	An on-site solar system adds no value for property-tax assessment, so it does not raise your tax bill (ARS 42-11054)
APS net billing / RCP export credit	Yes (replaces net metering)	Credits exported power at about 6.17 cents/kWh, well below retail (see the export table above)
Federal residential credit (Section 25D)	No, it ended	The 30% homeowner credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025 (IRS)

The state credit is small but nearly automatic, and it is not the federal one. The Arizona Residential Solar Energy Credit equals 25% of your solar device cost, capped at $1,000 for the same residence, so almost any full rooftop system hits the $1,000 maximum (ARS 43-1083; Arizona Department of Revenue, as of August 2026). People most often confuse this with the expired federal credit, so to be clear: the 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so an APS homeowner who buys solar in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS, as of January 2026). Arizona’s state credit still applies for the 2026 tax year. For the national timeline, see what the federal solar tax credit change means in 2026.

One federal exception exists, and it is not the homeowner’s to claim. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, is claimed by the business that owns a leased or PPA system, not by the resident (IRS Clean Electricity Investment Credit, as of 2026). So on a lease or PPA you do not file for a federal credit yourself; the system owner does. The 25D homeowner credit, by contrast, ended after December 31, 2025.

What an APS solar system actually saves: our estimate

Here is the original math for a Phoenix-area APS home, built from the retail rate, the production, and the APS export credit on this page. Because APS credits exports below retail, the value of each kilowatt-hour depends on how much you use yourself versus export. The table assumes about 65% of production offsets your own usage at the 15.48 cent retail rate and 35% is exported at the APS rate of about 6.17 cents, a blended value near 12.2 cents per kWh. It uses the Arizona average install price of about $2.15 per watt (EnergySage Arizona, as of June 2026) and subtracts the $1,000 state credit. These are estimates to show the shape of the numbers, not a quote for your roof.

System size	Est. annual production (Phoenix)	Installed cost at $2.15/W	After the $1,000 state credit	Est. annual savings	Simple payback
5 kW	~8,775 kWh	~$10,750	~$9,750	~$1,070	~9.1 years
6 kW	~10,531 kWh	~$12,900	~$11,900	~$1,285	~9.3 years
8 kW	~14,040 kWh	~$17,200	~$16,200	~$1,715	~9.4 years
10 kW	~17,550 kWh	~$21,500	~$20,500	~$2,140	~9.6 years

Production from NREL PVWatts v8 for a Phoenix system, as of June 2026. Savings use the blended APS value described above and do not include the small grid access charge. Your own numbers depend on roof, usage, and rate plan; run PVWatts for your address.

Two honest takeaways. First, the way to shorten your payback on APS is to use more of your solar directly, so fewer kilowatt-hours are sold back at the low RCP rate. Second, the flat $1,000 state credit is a bigger share of a small system’s cost than a large one, so right-sizing to your actual usage, rather than overbuilding to export, is the move on net billing. For the full price-and-payback breakdown, see our Arizona solar cost and payback guide, and for the utility-by-utility export detail see how Arizona net billing credits your exports.

APS solar by city: Phoenix, Mesa, and Scottsdale

APS and SRP split the Phoenix metro by address, so two neighbors can have different utilities and different export math. Our city guides add the local permitting and the serving-utility detail on top of the statewide rules: Phoenix solar, Mesa solar, Scottsdale solar, Chandler solar, and Glendale solar. Confirm which utility serves your exact address on your electric bill before you compare quotes, since APS, SRP, and TEP each credit exports differently.

How to choose a solar installer on APS

The Phoenix metro has a deep, competitive installer market, which is good for you. Rather than chasing a “best installer” list, screen any company against objective criteria:

• A valid Arizona ROC contractor license and proper electrical licensing.
• NABCEP certification, the industry’s professional standard for PV installers.
• A clear workmanship and equipment warranty in writing.
• Real experience with APS interconnection and net-billing enrollment, plus the Form 310 state credit and county property-tax exemption paperwork.
• A written production estimate and a quote that does not count the federal credit that ended after December 31, 2025. For a checklist, see the right questions to ask a solar installer.

MySolarFY matches you with licensed installers that serve your APS area so you can compare real local quotes side by side, with no obligation. To see how we research and match, read how MySolarFY works.

Check which solar programs are available at your APS address →

Frequently asked questions

Does APS have net metering?

No, not the full-retail kind. APS uses net billing, which Arizona’s regulated utilities adopted after the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Value-of-Solar case (Decision No. 75859, January 2017). The solar you use in real time offsets the retail rate, but any surplus you export is credited at the lower RCP rate, about 6.17 cents per kWh for the current tranche (APS RCP tariff, as of August 2026). Homeowners who had net metering before the change were grandfathered onto the old terms.

What is the APS RCP export credit in 2026?

The APS Resource Comparison Proxy (RCP) export credit for the current Tranche 2025 is about 6.17 cents per kWh, in effect for systems interconnected between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026 (APS RCP tariff, as of August 2026). Your rate locks in for 10 years when you interconnect and cannot fall more than 10% a year. The next reset is September 1, 2026, and APS has proposed a lower rate for the new tranche, so confirm the current figure with APS before you sign.

What is the APS grid access charge for solar?

APS applies a monthly grid access charge to residential solar customers based on system size, roughly $0.21 to $0.25 per kW-DC of panels on the time-of-use solar rate plans, so a 7 kW system pays about $1.50 to $1.75 a month (APS tariff, ACC docket E-01345A-22-0144, as of August 2026). A June 2026 Arizona Court of Appeals decision sent the charge back to the Arizona Corporation Commission over process concerns, so its status is unsettled. Confirm the current charge with APS.

What happened to the 30% federal tax credit for APS solar?

It ended. The 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so an APS homeowner going solar in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS, as of January 2026). Arizona’s own state credit and tax exemptions were not affected and still apply. Some pages still show the federal credit running to 2032; that is out of date.

Is solar worth it on APS?

For most APS homes with decent sun, yes, but the case rests on high production and low install cost, not a high power bill. Arizona power averages about 15.48 cents per kWh (EIA, as of April 2026) and installs run near $2.15 per watt. Because APS credits exports below retail, sizing your system to your own usage and using power on site is what drives the savings. Run PVWatts for your address, then compare local quotes.

Can I get APS solar with no up-front cost?

Some homeowners can, through a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) where eligible, which can mean no out-of-pocket cost at installation in exchange for monthly payments. This is not free solar; it is a long-term agreement, typically 20 to 25 years, and total payments may exceed a cash purchase. On a lease or PPA the third-party owner, not you, collects the Arizona state credit and the tax exemptions, while your benefit is a lower or more predictable power price. To own the system and keep those incentives, a cash purchase or solar loan is the path.