Historical Rates, System Costs, and Program Data

To assist you in determining if solar is right for you, we recommend comparing multiple estimates from different solar installers and comparing their options, which may include: 

  • Homeowner Purchase – Solar PV systems may be purchased in cash or financed through a loan. Term rates (length of the loan) may range between 10 to 20 years, which may be available at different interest rates. After the payback period, solar owners can see greater benefits from their upfront investment.
  • Solar Lease – With a solar lease, a third-party developer or financing company owns and may, or may not, maintain the solar PV system. Lease terms are typically 20 to 25 years, during which the homeowner pays a series of fixed or escalating payments to the developer. Payments are set ahead of time, so monthly costs are fixed and/or predictable. At the end of the term, the customer can choose to extend the lease, purchase the system at a discount, or have the system removed. 
  • Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – With a solar PPA, a third-party developer or financing company owns and may, or may not, maintain the solar PV system. PPA terms are typically 20 to 25 years, during which the homeowner purchases the energy produced by the system at a fixed or escalating rate (cost per kilowatt-hour of energy produced). Because a customer's monthly solar costs will vary based on system production, bills are typically higher in the summer and lower in the winter. At the end of the term, the customer can choose to extend the PPA, purchase the system at a discount, or have the system removed.

In addition, you may find it useful to review historic electric rates as well as recent solar installation costs from projects receiving the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions incentives. The tables below provide UI’s recent historic residential electric rates and average installed costs for solar and solar plus energy storage systems installed as part of the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions Program.

For information about the current Incentive Options available for your solar project, visit our Getting Started page.

 

Historical Residential Standard Service Generation and Delivery Rates

2023 (cents/kWh)
Rate Generation Cost Delivery Cost Generation + Delivery Cost
Period January -    January -    January -   
Rate R 0.219429   0.105252   0.324681  
Rate RT Peak 0.244362   0.124216   0.368578  
Rate RT Off-Peak 0.124216   0.083791   0.293153  

 

2022 (cents/kWh)
Rate Generation Cost Delivery Cost Generation + Delivery Cost
Period January - June July - December January - June July - December January - June July - December
Rate R 10.6731 10.6200 15.0782 14.1362 25.7513 24.7562
Rate RT Peak 13.2310 13.1779 25.4404 22.6343 38.6714 35.8122
Rate RT Off-Peak 9.7310 9.6779 8.5554 8.2839 18.2864 17.9618

 

2021 (cents/kWh)
Rate Generation Cost Delivery Cost Generation + Delivery Cost
Period January - June July - December January - June July - December January - June July - December
Rate R 9.3694 8.0103 14.7627 14.7265 24.1321 22.7368
Rate RT Peak 11.9280 10.5718 23.1648 25.0887 35.0928 35.6605
Rate RT Off-Peak 8.4280 7.0718 8.9836 8.2037 17.4116 15.2755

 

2020 (cents/kWh)
Rate Generation Cost Delivery Cost Generation + Delivery Cost
Period January - June July - December January - June July - December January - June July - December
Rate R 10.5607 8.6672 14.5287 15.8250 25.0894 24.4922
Rate RT Peak 13.1133 11.2284 22.9308 26.7522 36.0441 37.9806
Rate RT Off-Peak 9.6133 7.7284 8.7496 9.0256 18.3629 16.7540

 

Rate R - Summary Non time-of-use.
Rate RT - Peak & Off-Peak time-of-use.

Time-of-use rates are charged to UI residential customers taking service under Rate RT.
Peak rates are charged from noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays or about 24% of the total weekly hours.
Off-Peak rates are charged from 8 p.m. to noon on weekdays and all weekend hours, or about 76% of the total weekly hours. Any residential customer can request service under the time-of-use rate.

Historical System Costs-Residential Renewable Energy Solutions Projects

This cost data is from Residential Renewable Energy Solutions projects that have received Approval to Energize from UI. 

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