Sunprint
At a glance
A battery is optional. What it does under California's net billing rules (often called NEM 3.0) is store the midday solar you'd otherwise send to the grid for a few cents, so you can use it in the evening, when grid power costs the most. That's worth the most where evening prices are highest: SDG&E, then SCE and PG&E. It's also why batteries are now normal here:
The CPUC said the same thing a year earlier: nearly 70% of net billing customers had paired a battery with their solar by the end of 2024.
Does NEM 3.0 require a battery?
So solar without a battery still connects and still earns export credits. The question is only whether the battery pays for itself.
Why timing matters under net billing
Under net billing, solar you use at home saves the full price you'd pay. Solar you send to the grid earns an export credit that changes every hour. The CPUC says those credits are usually below what you pay but can rise above it on late summer evenings. Here is one PG&E day:
One August weekday at PG&E, hour by hour
At noon in August, each kWh you send to PG&E earns 6.8 cents. Hold it in a battery until 4 p.m. and it saves 55 cents of grid power, or, from 5 to 10 p.m., earns 90 cents to $1.15 if you send it out. Those evening credits are a summer thing: from October through May, PG&E's credits stay under 11 cents at every hour.
What one stored kWh is worth
Each row compares three things you can do with one kWh of midday solar on a weekday: send it out right away, store it and use it in the evening, or store it and send it out in the evening. The better use for that stored kWh is in bold.
| Utility | Sent out at midday | Stored, used 4–9 p.m. | Stored, sent out 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer weekdays | |||
| PG&EAugust | 6.8¢ | 55.2¢ | 90.9¢ |
| SCEJune–September | 6.0¢ | 61.0¢ | 21.0¢ |
| SDG&EAugust | 6.1¢ | 80.2¢ | 79.3¢ |
| Spring and winter weekdays | |||
| PG&EApril | 0.5¢ | 32.1¢ | 4.8¢ |
| SCEOctober–May | 3.0¢ | 45.0¢ | 10.0¢ |
| SDG&EApril | 0.4¢ | 52.4¢ | 4.5¢ |
Midday is the average credit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; evening export is the average from 4 to 9 p.m. Prices you pay are the required solar billing rates in 2026 (PG&E E-ELEC, SCE TOU-D-PRIME, SDG&E EV-TOU-5), on-peak. SCE publishes only seasonal averages for its export credits. A battery loses a little energy charging and discharging, so real values are slightly lower.
Two things stand out. In every season, a stored kWh is worth many times what it earns at midday. And in spring, when midday credits at PG&E and SDG&E fall below one cent, solar sent out at lunchtime earns almost nothing. The CPUC's consumer guide says the battery's software decides when to store and when to export, and suggests setting it to store extra solar off-peak and send energy back at peak.
What batteries cost in California
Median installed cost, 2026
PG&E
SCE
Homes that add a battery also install bigger solar systems, about 7.5 kW against 3.7 to 5 kW for solar alone, so the gap isn't the battery's price alone. The typical battery on these applications was 13.5 to 14 kWh. Reported costs vary widely by installer, so use these medians as a yardstick, not a quote.
Battery incentives in 2026
SGIP battery rebates
The state's Self-Generation Incentive Program paid toward home batteries. On October 29, 2026 its tracker showed the general residential budgets closed and the low-income equity budgets closed or waitlisted, except one.
Who: PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and SoCalGas customers; the equity budgets are for low-income homes
SGIP Residential Solar and Storage Equity
Pays $1,100 per kWh of battery and $3,100 per kW of solar for paired systems at low-income homes, from a $280 million budget. You have one year after reserving funds to finish, including joining a demand response program.
Who: Single-family homes with income at or below 80% of the area median, or on CARE, FERA or ESA, and some low-income apartment buildings, LADWP customers included
SMUD battery incentive
SMUD pays $300 per kWh of battery, up to $6,000, for projects submitted for interconnection from September 23, when you join its My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program within 90 days of permission to operate.
Who: SMUD customers
Property tax exclusion
California's solar property tax exclusion counts storage as part of a solar electric system, so a battery added with solar stays out of your assessment if the system is finished before January 1, 2027.
Who: Homeowners statewide
Federal tax credit
The 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit covered batteries of at least 3 kWh, but the IRS says it isn't available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025.
Who: No one, for batteries installed in 2026
Our California incentives guide covers the solar programs too, and the property tax guide explains the 2027 deadline.
Backup during outages
The CPUC's consumer guide says battery storage "can also provide limited back-up power." How much depends on the battery's size and how it's wired, so check which circuits it covers before you count on it. If you join a utility program that uses your battery, such as SMUD's, read how much it can draw down: SMUD says it always leaves 20% for you at the end of an event, and you keep full use of what's stored during an outage.
What a free quote call gets you
- One verified local installer
- The installed price for your roof
- Your payback years from that price
- Free, with no obligation
See what solar could save you
About a minute, and no phone number needed. If the number looks good, a free quote call gets you the exact price.
Common questions
Does NEM 3.0 require a battery?
No. Net billing requires an electrification time-of-use rate (E-ELEC at PG&E, TOU-D-PRIME at SCE, EV-TOU-5 at SDG&E), not a battery. PG&E's E-ELEC tariff says net billing customers aren't required to have any of the eligible technologies.
Is a solar battery worth it in California?
It depends on how much of your solar you'd otherwise send out at midday. Midday export credits are a few cents or less, while power used from 4 to 9 p.m. costs 32 to 80 cents on the 2026 solar billing rates. Each kWh a battery shifts is worth the difference, less a little lost in charging.
How much does a solar battery cost in California?
In January to August 2026, the median homeowner-owned system with a battery cost $39,093 at PG&E and $36,217 at SCE, against $25,000 and $11,543 for solar only, in California DG Stats. The battery systems also had bigger solar arrays.
Is there a battery rebate in California?
SGIP is the statewide battery program, but on October 29, 2026 its general residential budgets were closed and its low-income equity budgets were closed or waitlisted, except one. SMUD pays $300 per kWh, up to $6,000, through its own program.
Can I get the federal tax credit for a battery?
Not for a battery installed in 2026. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit, which covered batteries of at least 3 kWh, isn't available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025.
Does a battery count for California's solar property tax exclusion?
Yes, as part of a solar electric system. The exclusion covers storage, and it applies to systems finished before January 1, 2027.
Related guides
- California solar calculator
- NEM 3.0 (net billing) in California
- California solar incentives
- Is solar worth it in California?
- The solar true-up bill
- Solar for SMUD customers
Rates, export credits and incentive budgets change; figures here are for 2026. Costs are medians of what installers reported, not a quote for your home. Sources: CPUC: net billing tariff · CPUC: Self-Generation Incentive Program · SGIP incentive step tracker · California DG Stats · PG&E electric rate schedules · PG&E export credit values · SMUD: battery storage · IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit. Reviewed October 2026.
Next guideSolar panel cost in California →