Solar can pay in Duquesne Light territory in 2026, but greater Pittsburgh asks you to be honest about the sky first. Pennsylvania still credits the power your panels export near its full retail value, and if your bill says Duquesne Light Company you are in one of the state’s workable solar markets. The catch that no generic solar pitch will tell you is that Pittsburgh is one of the cloudier major metros in the country, so a roof here makes noticeably less power than one in sunnier central Pennsylvania, and that stretches the payback. This Duquesne Light net metering and solar guide walks through what the utility actually credits, what a real Pittsburgh roof produces on live modeling, the Pennsylvania SREC income you can add, and an honest look at what the state does and does not hand you, updated for 2026.
What Duquesne Light solar actually pays in 2026
- Duquesne Light net metering credits your exported power near full retail value. Pennsylvania requires investor-owned utilities like Duquesne to net residential solar kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour within each billing period, for systems up to 50 kW, with excess banked month to month (DSIRE Pennsylvania net metering, as of April 2026).
- Pennsylvania’s all-in residential rate averages about 20.9 cents per kWh. That is the price each kilowatt-hour your roof makes offsets under net metering (EIA, as of March 2026).
- Duquesne’s own generation Price to Compare rose to about 14.1 cents per kWh on June 1, 2026, up from about 13.75 cents, a roughly 2.8 percent default-service increase, with delivery charges billed on top (Duquesne Light residential rates, as of July 2026).
- A 6 kW system makes only about 7,150 to 7,225 kWh a year in Pittsburgh. That is honestly modest, roughly 15 to 20 percent below sunnier central Pennsylvania, because Pittsburgh is a cloudy-climate metro (NREL PVWatts, as of 2026).
- Pennsylvania has a solar SREC market you can sell into for extra income. A Duquesne system earns one tradable Solar Renewable Energy Credit per 1,000 kWh, sold on a market whose price fluctuates (DSIRE Pennsylvania AEPS, as of 2026).
- The 30 percent federal homeowner credit (Section 25D) ended after December 31, 2025 (IRS, as of January 2026), so a Duquesne homeowner buying solar in 2026 cannot claim it.
Key numbers for Duquesne Light solar
- Pennsylvania average residential rate: about 20.9 cents per kWh, as of March 2026 (EIA).
- Duquesne Light generation Price to Compare: about 14.1 cents per kWh, effective June 1, 2026 (Duquesne Light), a generation-only charge, not the full bill.
- 6 kW annual production: about 7,223 kWh in Oakland (15213) and 7,144 kWh in downtown Pittsburgh (15219), as of 2026 (NREL PVWatts v8, live).
- Estimated simple payback on net-metering savings alone: about 12 years for a 6 kW system, before any SREC income (SolarFY estimate, method below).
- Net metering: full-value in-period credit, residential systems up to 50 kW, as of April 2026 (DSIRE).
Where Duquesne Light serves, and why Pittsburgh’s sky shapes your solar math
Duquesne Light Company is the electric utility for southwestern Pennsylvania, not the whole state. It delivers power to about 600,000 customers, roughly 90 percent of them residential, across the City of Pittsburgh and parts of Allegheny and Beaver counties, a certificated territory of about 817 square miles (Duquesne Light PUC Phase V filing, as of December 2025). If your Pittsburgh-area neighbor is on a different company, or you are farther east in the state, the rules and rates are different: see our guides to PECO net metering in the Philadelphia area and PPL net metering in central and eastern Pennsylvania. Because coverage follows the service territory rather than city or county lines, it is worth confirming the utility named on your own bill.
The reason the territory matters here is the weather, and it is the one fact a name-swapped solar page will skip. Greater Pittsburgh sits under one of the cloudier skies of any major U.S. metro, so the same 6 kW system that would make close to 8,000 kWh a year in Lancaster makes only about 7,200 kWh here. That does not mean solar fails in Pittsburgh; Germany runs a large solar fleet on less sun than this. It means the honest first step is your own roof’s production and your own Duquesne rate, not a generic “solar saves you X” number. For the statewide rules that sit behind all of this, see our Pennsylvania solar guide.
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What a Pittsburgh roof actually makes: Oakland vs Downtown
Production is the honest half of the Duquesne math, and it is lower here than most of Pennsylvania. Using NREL’s PVWatts model for a standard 6 kW system, a roof in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh (ZIP 15213) makes about 7,223 kWh a year, and a downtown roof (15219) about 7,144 kWh, because greater Pittsburgh gets less annual sun than the sunnier central and eastern parts of the state (NREL PVWatts, as of 2026). Both figures are live model output for those ZIP codes, not a statewide average. Your own number depends on your latitude, roof pitch, shading, and orientation, so estimate your specific roof rather than trusting a regional figure, because production drives both your net-metering credits and how many SRECs you can sell.
The table below is our own estimate for a 6 kW system, built from the live PVWatts production for each ZIP and Pennsylvania’s all-in retail value. It counts only net-metering bill savings, so it is a conservative floor; SREC income, covered below, shortens the payback further. Treat it as an illustration, not a quote.
| Duquesne location (ZIP) | Est. annual production | Bill offset at 20.9¢/kWh | Est. simple payback (net metering only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland, Pittsburgh (15213) | ~7,223 kWh | ~$1,510 a year | ~11.9 years |
| Downtown Pittsburgh (15219) | ~7,144 kWh | ~$1,495 a year | ~12.0 years |
Notice how little your ZIP code moves the number: about one percent between Oakland and downtown. Across greater Pittsburgh the sunlight is roughly the same, so the thing that actually swings your production is not which neighborhood you live in but your own roof, its pitch, its orientation, and any shading from trees or nearby buildings. A clear, south-facing Pittsburgh roof can beat these figures, while a partly shaded or east-west roof will fall below them, which is why a real site assessment for your address beats any table.
Assumptions, shown so you can follow the math: a 6 kW system at about $3.00 per watt installed, or roughly $18,000, with no federal tax credit because Section 25D ended after 2025; production from NREL PVWatts v8 (live) for each ZIP; and each offset kilowatt-hour valued at Pennsylvania’s average residential rate of about 20.9 cents (EIA, as of March 2026). This counts net-metering savings only and assumes you consume or net most of your generation in-period at full value. Selling your SRECs adds income on top and pulls the payback in; a higher-usage home, a roof with better sun, or a system priced below $3 per watt does the same. A 12-year payback is a little longer than sunnier Pennsylvania markets, which is the Pittsburgh climate showing up in the numbers. Your real result depends on your usage, roof, rate, and financing, so run your own address before deciding.
How Duquesne Light net metering credits the power you send back
Net metering is the biggest reason solar pays in Duquesne territory, and the in-period credit is the strong part. Under Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, an investor-owned utility like Duquesne nets your solar generation against your usage kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour within each billing period, for residential systems up to 50 kW, so the power you make and use, or export and net in the same period, offsets electricity you would otherwise buy at the full retail rate (DSIRE Pennsylvania net metering, as of April 2026). When your panels make more than the house uses in a period, the extra banks forward as a credit month to month. For a plain-English walkthrough of the mechanics, see how net metering credits your solar exports, and for the statewide detail read our guide to Pennsylvania net metering in 2026.
The honest caveat is the annual true-up, and it is why sizing matters. Your month-to-month credits are valued at the full retail rate, but any credits still sitting in the bank at Duquesne’s annual reconciliation are cashed out at the utility’s lower supply, or generation, rate, not the full retail rate that includes delivery (Duquesne Light residential rates, as of July 2026). Pennsylvania also caps a net-metered system near 110 percent of your prior 12-month usage. The takeaway is to size your array close to your own annual use rather than deliberately overbuilding for a big year-end surplus, and to confirm the current true-up terms with Duquesne before you finalize a system size.
| What you earn with Duquesne Light | How it is valued | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| In-period net-metering credits | Full retail value, netted kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour | The Duquesne account holder |
| Banked monthly surplus | Rolls forward as a credit month to month | The account holder |
| Annual true-up of leftover credits | Duquesne’s lower supply/generation rate, below full retail | The account holder |
| PA SRECs (one per MWh produced) | A separate, fluctuating market price | The system owner |
Duquesne Light’s Price to Compare and the 2026 rate increase
Two different rate numbers get mixed up in Pittsburgh solar pitches, so here is the clean version. Duquesne’s Price to Compare is the default-service generation, or supply, rate: it rose to about 14.1 cents per kWh effective June 1, 2026, up from about 13.75 cents, a roughly 2.8 percent semiannual increase, and it does not include the delivery charges billed on top (Duquesne Light residential rates, as of July 2026). That is separate from the all-in residential rate, which averages about 20.9 cents per kWh statewide and includes both generation and delivery (EIA, as of March 2026). For estimating solar savings, the all-in figure is the useful one, because full-value net metering means each kilowatt-hour your roof makes offsets one you would otherwise buy at close to that all-in price.
Rising default rates make solar math better, not worse, if you own the system. Duquesne’s generation Price to Compare is adjusted semiannually and has climbed over the last year, following a larger default-rate step at the end of 2025 (Duquesne Light residential rates, as of July 2026). Every increase in what a utility charges for power raises the value of the electricity your own panels make and offset. This is a generation, or supply, adjustment, not a change to Duquesne’s distribution base rates, and it does not change Pennsylvania’s net-metering rules. For a broader look at how rising rates and payback interact, see the financial case for whether solar panels are worth it.
Selling PA SRECs on a Duquesne Light account
Pennsylvania is one of the states where your panels earn a tradable credit on top of the bill savings. The state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act includes a Tier I solar carve-out, which creates demand for Solar Renewable Energy Credits, the credits Pennsylvania tracks as Solar Alternative Energy Credits: your system earns one for every 1,000 kWh (one MWh) it produces, tracked in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (PJM-GATS), and a 2017 change (Act 40) limited eligibility to Pennsylvania-sited systems (DSIRE Pennsylvania AEPS, as of 2026). At Pittsburgh production levels a typical 6 kW Duquesne home makes roughly 7 SRECs a year, and you sell them through an aggregator or exchange such as SRECTrade or Flett Exchange.
The honest caveat is that PA SREC prices are a live market, so do not budget around a fixed number. Pennsylvania’s SREC price is a volatile, supply-and-demand spot price, and it has generally sat well below the triple-digit levels seen in tighter markets like New Jersey, so treat it as a bonus rather than the reason to go solar. Because the price moves week to week, pull a current quote from a live exchange such as SRECTrade’s Pennsylvania market rather than trusting an old figure, and ask your installer which registration and sales path they use.
What Pennsylvania does not give you, and why the math still works
Here is the part a lot of Pittsburgh solar pitches skip: Pennsylvania is not a cash-incentive state. Unlike neighbors such as New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania has no state income-tax credit for residential solar and no mandatory statewide property-tax or sales-tax exemption (DSIRE Pennsylvania, as of May 2026). You will also see search results and even AI answers mention a Pennsylvania Sunshine rebate; that state rebate program closed years ago after its funds ran out, so do not count on a rebate check. The value here comes from three things working together: reasonable retail rates, full-value net metering, and the SREC market.
How solar affects your property taxes is a local question in Pennsylvania. The state has no statewide law exempting the added home value from a solar system, and assessment practices are handled locally, so if you want to know whether panels will change your Allegheny or Beaver County assessment, ask your county or municipal assessor before you install. A battery can also change your economics by storing your own daytime solar power for the evening, which matters more in a cloudier climate where you want to keep every kilowatt-hour you make; see what a solar battery costs before you add one.
| Pennsylvania solar benefit | What it is | Value | Who claims it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net metering | In-period bill credit for solar, up to 50 kW residential | Full retail value in-period; annual surplus at a lower supply rate | The Duquesne account holder |
| PA SRECs (AEPS solar carve-out) | Tradable credit, one per MWh produced | A market price that fluctuates | The system owner |
| State income-tax credit | None in Pennsylvania | $0 | N/A |
| Statewide property or sales-tax exemption | None mandated statewide for residential solar | $0 statewide | N/A |
| Federal residential credit (25D) | Ended after Dec 31, 2025 | $0 in 2026 | N/A |
The federal tax credit ended: what that means for Pittsburgh buyers
The 30 percent federal homeowner credit is gone, and any 2026 pitch that says otherwise is wrong. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the 2025 federal budget law, so a Duquesne homeowner who buys solar with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS, as of January 2026). You will still see search results, and even AI answers, claiming Pennsylvania buyers get 30 percent back; for 2026 that is out of date. Only unused credit carried forward from a 2025 installation remains. For the full timeline, see what the federal solar tax credit change means in 2026.
There is one federal credit left, and it is not the homeowner’s to claim. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, can apply to a leased or power-purchase-agreement system, but the company that owns the panels claims it, not you (IRS Clean Electricity Investment Credit, as of 2026). On a lease or PPA you do not file for a federal credit; the owner does. The 25D homeowner credit, by contrast, ended after December 31, 2025. Pennsylvania’s net metering and SREC market were not affected by the federal change, so in Duquesne territory the local case for solar still holds on its own.
How to choose a solar installer in Duquesne Light territory
Greater Pittsburgh has a fragmented, mostly local installer market, from Western Pennsylvania companies to national brands, 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 valid Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration and the proper electrical licensing for your municipality.
- A clear workmanship and equipment warranty in writing.
- Real experience with Duquesne Light interconnection and net-metering applications, plus SREC registration, so your paperwork and Permission to Operate go smoothly.
- A written production estimate that uses a realistic Pittsburgh-climate output, not an inflated statewide number, and a transparent quote that uses today’s Duquesne rate and a realistic SREC value. For a checklist, see how we research and source these figures and learn more about the MySolarFY editorial team.
MySolarFY matches you with licensed installers that serve your Duquesne Light area so you can compare real local quotes side by side, with no obligation.
Duquesne Light serves the greater Pittsburgh area. For the city-level numbers, see our Pittsburgh solar guide, and for the statewide picture see Pennsylvania solar incentives.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Duquesne Light have a solar program and net metering?
Yes. Pennsylvania law requires investor-owned utilities like Duquesne Light to offer net metering to residential customer-generators, and Duquesne nets your solar generation against your usage kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour within each billing period, for systems up to 50 kW, banking any surplus forward month to month (DSIRE, as of April 2026). Duquesne also runs the interconnection process you complete before switching on. The one thing to size around is the annual true-up: leftover banked credits are cashed at Duquesne’s lower supply rate, not full retail, so the smart move is to size your system close to your own annual usage.
What is Duquesne Light’s electricity rate for solar math?
Duquesne’s Price to Compare, the default-service generation rate, rose to about 14.1 cents per kWh effective June 1, 2026, up from about 13.75 cents, with delivery charges billed on top (Duquesne Light, as of July 2026). For estimating solar savings, the more useful figure is the all-in residential rate, which averages about 20.9 cents per kWh statewide (EIA, as of March 2026), because in-period net metering means each kilowatt-hour your roof makes offsets one you would otherwise buy at close to that all-in price. Those are two different numbers measuring different things, so do not conflate the generation rate with the full delivered bill.
How much does a solar system produce in Pittsburgh?
For a standard 6 kW system, NREL’s PVWatts model estimates about 7,223 kWh a year in the Oakland area (ZIP 15213) and about 7,144 kWh downtown (15219) (NREL PVWatts, as of 2026). That is honestly modest, roughly 15 to 20 percent below sunnier central and eastern Pennsylvania, because Pittsburgh is a cloudy-climate metro. Solar still works here, but the lower output is why an honest Pittsburgh payback runs a bit longer, near 12 years on net-metering savings alone before SRECs. Your own production depends on your roof pitch, orientation, shading, and system size, so use PVWatts or an installer’s site assessment for your specific address.
Do Duquesne Light customers earn PA SRECs?
Yes. Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act includes a Tier I solar carve-out that creates a Solar Renewable Energy Credit market, and a Duquesne homeowner earns one credit for every 1,000 kWh their system produces, tracked in PJM-GATS (DSIRE, as of 2026). You sell them through an aggregator or exchange such as SRECTrade or Flett Exchange, and at Pittsburgh output a typical 6 kW home earns roughly 7 a year. The price is a volatile spot market that has generally sat well below tighter markets like New Jersey, so pull a live quote rather than a fixed figure, and treat SREC income as a bonus on top of your net-metering savings.
Is there a Pennsylvania state solar rebate or tax credit?
No. Pennsylvania has no state income-tax credit for residential solar and no mandatory statewide property-tax or sales-tax exemption (DSIRE, as of May 2026). You may see mention of a Pennsylvania Sunshine rebate, but that state rebate program closed years ago after its funds ran out, so there is no active state rebate check in 2026. The state’s value comes from full-value net metering plus the SREC market. The federal residential credit (Section 25D) that used to help ended after December 31, 2025, so for 2026 the Pennsylvania case rests on net metering and SRECs.
Can I get solar panels for free in Pittsburgh?
No. Solar panels are not free, and any ad promising “free solar” is not being straight with you. What some homeowners can get is solar with no up-front cost 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 (DSIRE, as of April 2026). That 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 collects the SRECs and any federal commercial credit, not you. To keep the SREC income and own the system, a cash purchase or solar loan is the path.
What happened to the federal solar tax credit for Pittsburgh buyers?
The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a Duquesne homeowner buying solar in 2026 with cash or a loan cannot claim it (IRS, as of January 2026). Only unused credit carried over from a 2025 installation remains. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, can apply to leased and PPA systems, but the company that owns the system claims it, not the homeowner. Pennsylvania net metering and the SREC market were not affected, so at Duquesne’s rates the local payback case still stands.
Reviewed by the MySolarFY editorial team on July 9, 2026. Figures were verified against the linked Duquesne Light, PA PUC / DSIRE, EIA, NREL PVWatts, and IRS sources; Duquesne’s Price to Compare and net-metering terms, Pennsylvania net-metering rules, and SREC prices can change, so confirm current terms with Duquesne Light and your installer before you decide. MySolarFY does not provide tax or financial advice; consult a licensed professional about your own situation. Learn more about the MySolarFY editorial team and how we work.
MySolarFY is a free service that matches homeowners with licensed solar installers. We are not an installer, financing company, 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 SRECs and any federal commercial credit 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.
