Burlington is the one Vermont city where your utility is not Green Mountain Power. The city runs its own municipal utility, the Burlington Electric Department (BED), and BED sets both its own electric rate and its own net-metering credit, both different from the rest of the state. BED’s residential energy charge runs about 19 cents per kWh on most of your usage, below the Vermont statewide average, and BED credits exported solar at its own lower blended rate, not the statewide rate that Green Mountain Power customers get. MySolarFY’s analysis, as of July 2026, estimates a typical 6 kW Burlington rooftop produces about 7,300 kWh a year, enough to offset roughly $860 to $1,400 of a Burlington Electric bill and pay for itself in about 15 to 20 years, since the federal solar tax credit (Section 25D) ended December 31, 2025 and Vermont has no state solar credit to replace it. These figures use BED’s current filed tariffs; BED and Vermont both reset their numbers periodically, so confirm the current tariff before you size a system.
If you are looking at rooftop solar in Burlington, the first thing to get right is who your utility is, because it changes the whole math. Most Vermont solar guides, including our own, describe Green Mountain Power, the investor-owned utility that serves most of the state. Burlington is the exception. The City of Burlington owns and runs the Burlington Electric Department, a municipal utility with its own rates, its own net-metering tariff, and, notably, no solar or battery rebates of the kind Green Mountain Power offers. That makes Burlington a genuinely different solar market from the towns around it. This page covers what BED charges for power, exactly how Burlington VT solar net metering works in 2026, what a typical Burlington home can save, why Vermont’s 2026 net-metering change probably will not touch you, and how to permit and connect a system in the city. For the statewide picture, start at our Vermont solar hub.
Updated for 2026 with BED’s current residential tariff, BED’s net-metering blended rate and adjustors, Vermont’s 2026 biennial net-metering order, and an original earnings estimate for a Burlington home.
Your Burlington utility is Burlington Electric, not Green Mountain Power
In the City of Burlington, your electric utility is the municipal Burlington Electric Department, not Green Mountain Power. BED is the exclusive provider of electric service to the roughly 16 square miles of the city, and it is Vermont’s largest municipal electric utility (Burlington Electric Department, as of July 2026). Green Mountain Power serves most of the towns around Burlington and most of Vermont, but not the city itself, so the statewide GMP net-metering rules and the GMP battery programs do not apply to a home inside Burlington. If your address is in the city, your rate, your net-metering credit, and your interconnection all run through BED. One small wrinkle: BED also serves Burlington International Airport, which sits just over the line in South Burlington, so the two are not a perfect one-to-one with the city boundary.
This distinction is the single most important thing to know before you compare quotes. An installer or a generic solar-savings calculator built around Green Mountain Power’s numbers will misstate your credit, because BED credits solar differently and pays no battery incentive. For how solar pays on the other side of the city line, see our page on Green Mountain Power net metering, and for the statewide rules behind both, see the Vermont solar hub.
- Utility: Burlington Electric Department (BED), the city’s municipal utility, as of July 2026.
- BED residential energy charge: about 14.0 cents per kWh on the first 100 kWh a month, then about 19.2 cents per kWh above that, effective March 2026 (BED RS tariff, VT PUC Case 25-1172-TF).
- Vermont statewide residential average, for context only: about 24.56 cents per kWh, as of April 2026 (EIA). BED is cheaper than this statewide blend.
- BED net-metering credit for a new home system: about 11.75 cents per kWh if you transfer your RECs to BED, or about 7.75 cents if you keep them, as of 2026 (BED net-metering tariff).
- Typical 6 kW Burlington system: about 7,300 kWh per year (NREL PVWatts v8, ZIP 05401).
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What does Burlington Electric charge for electricity in 2026?
BED’s residential rate is what your solar offsets first, and it is built as an inclining block, so most of your bill is charged at the higher tier. Under BED’s residential service tariff, effective March 1, 2026, you pay a fixed customer charge of $10.65 a month, then an energy charge of about 14.0 cents per kWh on the first 100 kWh you use in a month and about 19.2 cents per kWh on everything above that, plus a small energy-efficiency charge of about 0.907 cents per kWh (BED Residential Service tariff, VT PUC Case 25-1172-TF, as of March 2026). Because a typical home uses far more than 100 kWh a month, most of your usage falls in that higher tail block, so the rate that actually matters for solar is close to 19 to 20 cents per kWh all in.
Here is the number that trips up out-of-town calculators: Burlington’s rate is below the Vermont statewide average, not at it. Vermont’s statewide residential electricity average is about 24.56 cents per kWh (EIA, as of April 2026), but that figure blends together Green Mountain Power, BED, and the co-ops, and BED is one of the cheaper utilities in the mix. So do not let a quote value your solar against the 24.56 cent statewide number. On a BED bill, the power your panels replace is worth closer to BED’s own energy charge. BED’s next scheduled change is a 2.99% increase on bills rendered on or after October 1, 2026, so confirm the current cents on your own statement. The simplest check is to divide the energy portion of your BED bill by the kWh you used that month.
How does Burlington Electric net metering work in 2026?
This is where Burlington differs most from the rest of Vermont: BED credits your exported solar at its own, lower blended rate, not the statewide rate Green Mountain Power customers receive. When your panels make more than your home is using, BED credits the surplus to your account and it rolls forward month to month. BED values that credit at its own calculated blended residential rate, about 15.75 cents per kWh (precisely $0.157506), and its tariff sets the credit as the lesser of the statewide average or BED’s own number (BED Self-Generation and Net-Metering Tariff, effective August 2024, as of 2026). Because BED’s own rate is currently the lower of the two, Burlington customers are credited below the statewide track that a Green Mountain Power home is on.
Two adjustors then move that credit up or down for a new home system, and both can lower it. For a new residential rooftop of 15 kW or less (BED’s Category I), the tariff applies a siting adjustor of about minus 4 cents per kWh, plus a renewable energy certificate, or REC, adjustor: 0 cents if you transfer your RECs to BED, or about minus 4 cents if you keep them (BED net-metering tariff, as of 2026). Put together, a new Burlington rooftop’s all-in export credit is roughly 11.75 cents per kWh if you transfer your RECs to BED, or about 7.75 cents if you keep them. Unused credits roll over but expire after 12 months, and you elect the REC choice when you file your interconnection application. For the plain-English basics of how the meter math works, see our explainer on how net metering works.
| Feature | Burlington Electric (BED), the city | Green Mountain Power, most of Vermont |
|---|---|---|
| Export credit basis | BED’s own blended rate, about 15.75 cents per kWh, the lesser of statewide or BED’s own number | The statewide blended residential rate, about 18.4 cents per kWh in the confirmed 2024 order, reported rising toward about 20.7 cents under the 2026 order pending confirmation |
| REC choice | Transfer to BED for 0 cents, or keep RECs for about minus 4 cents per kWh | Transfer to GMP for plus 3 cents, or keep RECs for minus 3 cents per kWh |
| All-in new-rooftop credit | About 7.75 to 11.75 cents per kWh after the siting and REC adjustors | Roughly 15 to 21 cents per kWh depending on the REC choice |
| Battery incentive | None. BED has no home-battery incentive or lease program. | Yes. Bring Your Own Device up to $10,500, or a leased Powerwall from $55 a month. |
| Credit expiry | Unused credits expire after 12 months | Unused credits expire after 12 months |
What this means in practice: Burlington trades a lower electric rate for a lower solar credit. A Green Mountain Power home pays more per kWh but earns a higher net-metering credit and can stack a battery incentive. A Burlington home pays less per kWh and earns a lower credit, with no battery rebate to add on top. Neither is simply better; the payback comes down to your usage and how you size the system, which is why an honest local estimate matters more here than a statewide rule of thumb. The GMP REC values above are drawn from our Green Mountain Power net-metering page.
What can a typical Burlington solar home save per year?
Is solar worth it in Burlington in 2026? For many homes, yes, but the case rests on offsetting your own usage, not on a rich credit or a rebate. Because BED’s net-metering credit is modest and Vermont has no state solar tax credit, the value of a Burlington system comes mostly from the retail power you no longer buy. Power you use in real time offsets BED’s retail energy rate of about 19 to 20 cents per kWh, while any surplus you export is credited lower, at BED’s net-metering rate. A well-sized home lands between those two values. Here is an original SolarFY estimate for a Burlington home, using real local production and BED’s own verified rates. Treat it as an illustration, not a quote.
| System size | Est. annual production | If it offsets BED retail power (~19.2 cents/kWh) | Realistic blended value for a typical home (~15 cents/kWh) | If exported at BED net metering (~11.75 cents/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | ~6,110 kWh | ~$1,170 | ~$920 | ~$720 |
| 6 kW | ~7,330 kWh | ~$1,405 | ~$1,105 | ~$860 |
| 8 kW | ~9,770 kWh | ~$1,875 | ~$1,475 | ~$1,150 |
How we calculated this (inputs and assumptions): production uses NREL PVWatts v8 modeled for Burlington ZIP 05401, where a 6 kW system models at about 7,329 kWh per year (1,221.5 kWh per kW), scaled linearly by system size (our data and methodology). The two outer columns bracket the answer: the retail column values every kWh at BED’s retail tail-block energy rate of about 19.2 cents per kWh (BED RS tariff, as of March 2026), the case where you use the power yourself, and the export column values every kWh at BED’s net-metering export credit of about 11.75 cents per kWh with RECs transferred (BED net-metering tariff, as of 2026), the case where you export it. The middle column is the realistic case: we assume a typical Burlington home self-consumes about 45 percent of its output in real time and exports the other 55 percent, which blends to roughly 15 cents per kWh. On that split a 6 kW system’s roughly 7,330 kWh is worth about $1,105 a year. At a typical cash price near $3.10 per watt, a 6 kW system runs about $18,600 before financing, so the payback arithmetic is about $18,600 divided by $1,105, or roughly 17 years, with no federal homeowner credit because Section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, and no Vermont state credit. Solar panels typically keep producing for about 25 to 30 years, so a payback near 17 years still leaves the better part of a decade of low-cost power afterward, which is how a Burlington system can still net out ahead over its life even without incentives. Your actual numbers depend on roof, shading, usage, and your REC choice, so run your address through the eligibility check.
Vermont changed its net-metering rules in 2026, but Burlington is different
Vermont just cut its statewide net-metering rate, and it made headlines, but that change mostly misses Burlington. The Vermont Public Utility Commission runs a biennial update to the net-metering rules, and it issued its 2026 order in Case 26-0291-INV on May 29, 2026 (Vermont PUC, as of 2026). That order adjusts the statewide blended residential rate that Green Mountain Power and similar utilities use, and Renewable Energy Vermont publicly criticized it as a net-metering cut. Here is the local twist: because BED credits solar at the lesser of its own rate or the statewide rate, and BED’s own rate is already the lower one, a change to the statewide number does not automatically change what a Burlington customer earns.
So a Burlington homeowner should watch BED’s own tariff, not the statewide headline. BED recalculates its own blended rate from time to time based on its actual revenue and sales, so your credit can still move, just for a different reason than the statewide order. The practical takeaway is to confirm BED’s current net-metering rate and adjustors on its filed tariff, or with your installer, before you commit, rather than assuming either the old BED figure or the statewide number applies to you.
What Vermont and Burlington do not offer a solar homeowner
Burlington pairs a reasonable electric rate with a thin incentive stack, so it pays to be clear about what is not there. On a BED account in 2026, most of the extras a homeowner might expect from other states or from Green Mountain Power simply do not exist:
- No Vermont state solar tax credit. Vermont has no personal income-tax credit for residential solar, so there is no state credit for a Burlington homeowner to claim (DSIRE Vermont, as of 2026).
- No BED solar rebate. Burlington Electric does not offer an upfront rebate or cash incentive for installing rooftop solar; the net-metering credit is the benefit (Burlington Electric solar, as of 2026).
- No BED home-battery incentive. Unlike Green Mountain Power, which pays for batteries through Bring Your Own Device and leases a Powerwall, BED has no home-battery program, so a Burlington homeowner who wants storage buys it outright (Burlington Electric solar, as of 2026). If you are weighing storage anyway, our guide to the best solar batteries for home backup covers sizing and chemistry.
- Net-metering credits expire after 12 months. A large banked surplus you never use is lost rather than paid out, so sizing the system to your own annual use matters (BED net-metering tariff, as of 2026).
One area where BED does put money on the table is electrification, just not solar. Burlington Electric runs rebates for electric vehicles and for cold-climate heat pumps, which can lower the cost of the other clean-energy upgrades a solar home often wants (Burlington Electric, as of 2026). These are not solar incentives, so do not let a quote count them as solar savings, but they are worth knowing about if you are electrifying your home around the same time.
What the federal tax-credit change means for Burlington
The federal homeowner credit is gone, and Vermont has no state credit to replace it. The 30 percent 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 a Burlington homeowner who buys solar with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS, as of January 1, 2026). You will still see search results and even utility FAQ pages that say a 30 percent credit runs through 2032; for a 2026 homeowner purchase, that is out of date. This matters more in Burlington precisely because there is no state credit and no BED rebate to fall back on. For the full timeline, see our explainer on what the end of the federal solar tax credit means in 2026.
One federal exception remains, and it is not yours to claim. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, can apply to third-party-owned systems, meaning a solar lease or power purchase agreement, where the company that owns the equipment claims the credit, not you, though it may pass some value through as a lower payment. On a leased system you do not file for a federal credit yourself. The 25D homeowner credit, by contrast, ended after December 31, 2025. MySolarFY does not provide tax advice; confirm your own situation with a tax professional.
Burlington runs on 100 percent renewable electricity already
Burlington holds a distinction no other American city can claim: it was the first in the United States to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable resources. BED reached that milestone in September 2014, capping a roughly 15-year effort, when it completed the purchase of the Winooski One hydroelectric facility to go alongside its wind, solar, and biomass supply (Burlington Electric Department; SEIA, as of 2026). It is a genuine point of civic pride, and it is a fair question whether rooftop solar still makes sense in a city that is already all-renewable at the utility level.
The answer is that home solar in Burlington is about your bill, not the grid’s carbon. BED’s supply being 100 percent renewable does not change what you pay for power, and it does not change net metering; your panels still offset the electricity you would otherwise buy from BED and still earn a net-metering credit for the surplus. Adding your own rooftop generation also supports the city’s broader Net Zero Energy goal, which extends the clean-energy push from electricity into heating and transportation. So the reason to go solar here is the same as anywhere: the power you stop buying, sized against what it costs you to install.
Permitting and connecting solar in Burlington
Connecting a home system in Burlington runs through both the city and the state, and the step that matters most is that you cannot switch on until BED approves the interconnection. The city’s Department of Permitting and Inspections handles building and electrical permits, and a rooftop solar project typically draws three inspections before it can run (City of Burlington Department of Permitting and Inspections, as of 2026). The general path is:
- City permits. You or your installer pull a building permit and an electrical permit from the City of Burlington Department of Permitting and Inspections. Homes in a historic district or under a zoning overlay may need extra design or setback review.
- State Certificate of Public Good and BED net-metering registration. A net-metered system needs a Certificate of Public Good from the Vermont Public Utility Commission, filed with BED as the interconnecting utility, with your system design and inverter data.
- Install and inspect. A licensed contractor installs the system, and it passes the city building and electrical inspections.
- BED interconnection and permission to operate. BED inspects the interconnection, sets a bidirectional meter, and grants permission to operate. Your system only starts banking net-metering credits once BED approves it to run.
A licensed installer normally manages this whole process, including the city permits and the Certificate of Public Good.
Paying for solar in Burlington: cash, loan, lease, or PPA
There is no single right way to pay for solar; the best fit depends on whether you want to own the system, and on Burlington’s math, ownership usually wins because there is no state credit or rebate for a third party to capture on your behalf. The table below compares the common paths at a high level. A lease or PPA can mean no up-front cost for eligible homeowners, but it is a long-term agreement with monthly payments, not free solar, and the company that owns the panels, not you, makes the REC and net-metering choices.
| Path | Up-front cost | Who controls the REC and net-metering choice | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash purchase | Full system cost | You, the owner | You want the fastest payback and the most lifetime savings |
| Solar loan | Little to none, financed | You, the owner | You want ownership without paying cash up front |
| Lease or PPA | $0-up-front where eligible | The third-party owner | You prefer no up-front cost and a simpler, fixed monthly bill |
How to choose a solar installer in Burlington
Chittenden County has the densest network of solar installers in Vermont, and the market leans toward Vermont-based and regional companies rather than the big national chains, which is good for you because it means real competition on price and service. Rather than chasing a “best installer” list, screen any company against objective criteria:
- NABCEP certification, the industry’s professional standard for PV installers.
- A company properly licensed and insured to work in Vermont.
- A clear workmanship and equipment warranty in writing.
- Real experience with BED net metering, the REC choice, the city permits, and the Certificate of Public Good, so your paperwork and credit are set up correctly from day one.
- A written production estimate that sizes the system to your usage and values your output against BED’s rates, not Green Mountain Power’s or the statewide average.
For how solar pays just outside the city, see our page on Green Mountain Power net metering, and for the statewide rules, the Vermont solar hub. MySolarFY matches you with licensed installers that serve your area so you can compare real local quotes side by side, with no obligation. Learn more about how MySolarFY works.
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Frequently asked questions
Is solar worth it in Burlington, VT in 2026? For many Burlington homes with decent sun, yes, but the case is about offsetting your own power, not a rich incentive. BED’s retail energy rate runs about 19 to 20 cents per kWh on most of your usage, so the power your panels replace has real value, but BED’s net-metering credit is lower, around 7.75 to 11.75 cents per kWh for a new home system depending on your REC choice, and Vermont has no state solar tax credit (BED net-metering tariff, as of 2026). Our estimate puts a typical 6 kW system’s annual bill value near $860 to $1,400 and simple payback around 15 to 20 years. Savings are not guaranteed and depend on your roof, usage, and how you pay.
Who is my electric utility for solar in Burlington? The Burlington Electric Department, the city’s own municipal utility, not Green Mountain Power. BED is the exclusive electric provider inside the City of Burlington and runs its own rates, net metering, and interconnection (Burlington Electric Department, as of July 2026). Green Mountain Power serves most of the surrounding towns and most of Vermont, so its net-metering rules and battery programs do not apply to a home inside the city.
How does Burlington Electric net metering work? BED credits the solar you export at its own blended residential rate, about 15.75 cents per kWh, which its tariff sets as the lesser of the statewide average or BED’s own number (BED net-metering tariff, as of 2026). For a new home system, a siting adjustor of about minus 4 cents and a REC adjustor of 0 cents if you transfer your certificates to BED, or about minus 4 cents if you keep them, bring the all-in credit to roughly 11.75 cents per kWh if you transfer RECs, or about 7.75 cents if you keep them. Credits roll over but expire after 12 months, so size your system to your annual use.
How is Burlington solar different from Green Mountain Power solar? Burlington pays a lower electric rate but earns a lower net-metering credit, and BED has no battery incentive, while Green Mountain Power charges a higher rate, credits solar at the higher statewide blended rate, and pays for home batteries through its Bring Your Own Device and leased-Powerwall programs. So a Burlington system leans on offsetting your own usage, while a GMP system can lean more on the credit and a battery incentive. Compare the two on our Green Mountain Power net-metering page.
Does Vermont have a solar tax credit? No. Vermont has no state personal income-tax credit for residential solar (DSIRE Vermont, as of 2026). The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit, Section 25D, also ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a Burlington homeowner buying with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it either (IRS, as of January 1, 2026). Some pages still say a 30 percent credit runs through 2032; that is out of date for a 2026 homeowner purchase. Burlington Electric also offers no solar rebate, so the value of a Burlington system comes from net metering and the power you stop buying. MySolarFY does not provide tax advice.
Did Vermont’s 2026 net-metering change affect Burlington? Probably not much. The Vermont Public Utility Commission issued its 2026 biennial net-metering order in Case 26-0291-INV on May 29, 2026, adjusting the statewide blended rate that Green Mountain Power and similar utilities use (Vermont PUC, as of 2026). Because BED credits solar at the lesser of its own rate or the statewide rate, and BED’s own rate is already lower, a change to the statewide number does not automatically change a Burlington customer’s credit. BED does recalculate its own rate periodically, though, so confirm BED’s current net-metering tariff before you install rather than relying on either an old BED figure or the statewide headline.
Can I get solar with no up-front cost in Burlington? Some homeowners can, through a lease or power purchase agreement 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 the cost of a cash purchase. On a lease or PPA the third-party owner, not you, makes the REC and net-metering choices and owns the system. Because Burlington has no state credit or rebate for anyone to capture, owning the system with cash or a loan is usually the path that keeps the most value. Check what you qualify for before deciding.
Written and reviewed by the SolarFY Editor, our in-house solar research desk, following our data and methodology, in July 2026. Figures were verified against the linked Burlington Electric Department tariffs, the Vermont Public Utility Commission, DSIRE, the City of Burlington, the IRS, EIA, and NREL PVWatts sources, and cross-checked with our fact-checker, as of July 2026. Burlington Electric’s rates and net-metering blended rate and adjustors, and Vermont’s statewide net-metering values, reset over time, including through Vermont’s biennial update, so confirm current figures with Burlington Electric and the linked primary sources before you decide. MySolarFY does not provide tax or financial advice; consult a licensed professional about your own situation. Learn more about how MySolarFY works.
MySolarFY is a free service that matches homeowners with licensed solar installers. We are not an installer, financing company, tax advisor, or government program. “No up-front cost” refers to qualifying lease or PPA financing, where eligible homeowners may have no out-of-pocket cost at installation. Lease and PPA terms typically run 20 to 25 years, may include an annual price escalator, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase; on a lease or PPA the net-metering and renewable energy certificate choices and any incentives go to the company that owns the system, not the homeowner. Homeowners do not get the federal residential credit (Section 25D) that ended after December 31, 2025. Solar panels are not free and monthly payments apply. Eligibility, savings, incentives, and rates vary and are not guaranteed. See our full disclaimer.