Connecticut's RRES Solar Program: Netting vs. Buy-All

What is Connecticut's RRES program?

RRES stands for Residential Renewable Energy Solutions. It's Connecticut's statewide program for paying homeowners for the power their solar panels produce, and it's how every new home system in Eversource and United Illuminating (UI) territory is compensated. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) oversees it, and the two utilities run it.

RRES launched on January 1, 2022, replacing the Connecticut Green Bank's old rebate program and traditional net metering. It's set up to accept applications through December 31, 2027. Whichever year you enroll, your system is paid under that year's terms for a full 20 years.

Every year, PURA reviews the program and sets the rates for the next year's applications. The figures below come from its Year 5 decision of December 17, 2025, and apply to applications received in 2026 (as of October 2026). For the rest of Connecticut's programs, see our Connecticut solar incentives page.

How does the RRES Netting option pay you?

Netting is the option closest to the net metering most people have heard of. Your panels power your home first, so every kilowatt-hour you use straight from the roof is one you don't buy from the utility. When the panels make more than your home needs, the extra goes to the grid.

Each month, the utility credits your bill for that extra power at your full retail rate, including supply charges. Credits you don't use carry forward from month to month and can cover supply and delivery charges. Because the credit follows your retail rate, its value moves when electric rates change.

Starting in 2026, a state law (Public Act 25-173) requires a charge on Netting systems. For 2026 applications, PURA set it at $0.0402 per kWh of solar production, shown on your bill as the Solar Energy Adjustment (Eversource) or Solar Production Charge (UI). The charge is locked for your 20-year term. PURA set it so that Netting pays about the same return as Buy-All.

How does the RRES Buy-All option pay you?

With Buy-All, your system sells all of its output to the utility at a fixed rate, and your home keeps buying power from the grid as it does today. The two are metered separately.

• $0.3289 per kWh for applications received in 2026, the same in Eversource and UI territory
• Plus $0.055 per kWh for households with incomes at or below 60% of state median income
• Plus $0.0275 per kWh in a state-designated economically distressed municipality (if both apply, you get the higher of the two)

That rate covers both the electricity and the renewable energy certificates your system produces, and it doesn't change for 20 years. It's paid as credits on your electric bill. If credits build up, you can ask for a cash payment once a year, starting on the first anniversary of your system's approval.

Netting or Buy-All: which fits your home?

PURA designed RRES to be neutral: the rates are set so that both options give a similar return. The right one depends on how you use power and how much predictability you want.

Netting tends to fit homeowners who want a battery, or who want their solar to keep pace with electric rates, since credits follow the retail rate. Buy-All tends to fit homeowners who want a fixed, predictable payment that doesn't depend on future rate changes.

Does Connecticut still have net metering?

Not for new systems. Traditional net metering closed at the end of 2021, and systems that applied for interconnection before January 1, 2022 kept it. Today, RRES Netting is Connecticut's version of net metering for new home solar: your solar offsets what you use, and exported power earns retail-rate credits.

The main difference is the 2026 production charge, which old net metering didn't have. Unused Netting credits also stay on your account rather than paying out each year; they're paid out only when you close your utility account. For a look at how bill credits work next door, see our guide to net metering in Massachusetts.

How do batteries, leases and PPAs fit with RRES?

Batteries. Netting is the natural partner for a battery, because your panels power your home first and the battery can store that power for evenings and outages. Battery capacity doesn't count toward the RRES size cap. Connecticut pays for home batteries separately through the Energy Storage Solutions program, which our solar battery guide covers.

Leases and PPAs. RRES works with owned, leased and PPA systems. Because a leased or PPA system qualifies for the 30% federal credit, you get a lower monthly payment or rate, often a better deal than buying; the system owner claims the credit and passes the value to you. With Netting, the bill credits for your exported power come to you. With a lease or PPA, Buy-All payments can be split between bill credits for you and the company that owns the system; ask how your contract divides them. Homes in New Haven and Windham counties, and parts of Fairfield and New London, may also qualify for a federal energy community bonus that can lower a lease or PPA price further.

Buying. If you pay cash or take a loan, the RRES payments come to you. The 30% homeowner tax credit ended for systems installed after 2025, so for owners the value comes from RRES and your bill savings. Connecticut's Smart-E solar loan is one way to finance it. Our solar financing guide compares all five ways to pay.

How do you sign up for RRES?

You don't apply on your own. Your installer submits the RRES application to Eversource or UI with your chosen option, and the utility issues a Statement of Qualification that locks your rates. The date the utility receives a complete application decides which program year's rates you get.

A few rules shape the system design:

• Size cap: up to 25 kW AC per home, measured at the inverter.
• Sized to your use: expected production can't exceed your highest 12 months of usage in the past five years by more than 5%, plus room for up to two electric vehicles and a heat pump you plan to add.
• Disclosure first: you sign a Customer Disclosure Form, which must be shown to you before you enter a solar contract.

Rates for 2027 applications will come from PURA's next annual review, so a proposal written late in 2026 should say which year's rates it assumes. For how RRES fits with every other incentive, see our 2026 solar incentive guide, or call Evergreen Solar at (508) 507-2908.

Frequently asked questions