Florida solar payback by utility, ranked (2026)
Tariffs reviewed November 1, 2026 · 27 utilities ranked, 7 awaiting verification · Download CSV · JSON
What the table shows
A typical Florida home (1100 kWh a month, electric heat) pays back a net-zero solar system in about 10 years with Florida Public Utilities (FPUC) and about 28 years with Escambia River Electric Cooperative (EREC), a spread of 18.7 years across the 27 Florida utilities whose schedules we have verified.
The spread comes from the rules, not the sun: of those 27, 11 credit exports at the full retail rate, 16 pay an avoided-cost rate for exports.
Rates were read from each utility's own schedule (last full review November 1, 2026); the payback figure is the worked example from each utility's page, and your own roof, usage and heating change it.
Ranked by payback for a typical home
1100 kWh a month, electric heat, net-zero system at Florida installed prices; the range under each payback is the full span the engine gives. Click a column to sort. Energy rate is the marginal rate at that use on the June schedule.
| 1 | Florida Public Utilities (FPUC)Investor-owned utility (PSC-regulated) | 16.7¢/kWh | $24.40/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Decemberleftover paid at 3.00¢/kWh | 2000 kW AC | 9.5 yrs8.3–11.1 |
| 2 | Tampa Electric (TECO)Investor-owned utility (PSC-regulated) · net-metering terms assumed | 15.9¢/kWh | $13.69/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Decemberleftover paid at 3.00¢/kWh | 2000 kW AC | 9.6 yrs8.4–11.3 |
| 3 | Duke Energy FloridaInvestor-owned utility (PSC-regulated) · net-metering terms assumed | 15.3¢/kWh | $14.43/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Decemberleftover paid at 3.00¢/kWh | 2000 kW AC | 9.7 yrs8.5–11.4 |
| 4 | FPL Northwest Florida (former Gulf Power)Investor-owned utility (PSC-regulated) | 14.7¢/kWh | $10.52/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Decemberleftover paid at 3.00¢/kWh | 2000 kW AC | 10.5 yrs9.1–12.3 |
| 5 | City of Tallahassee UtilitiesMunicipal utility | 13.6¢/kWh | $10.29/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | December | 100 kW AC | 10.7 yrs9.3–12.4 |
| 6 | Florida Power & LightInvestor-owned utility (PSC-regulated) | 14.3¢/kWh | $10.52/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Decemberleftover paid at 3.00¢/kWh | 2000 kW AC | 10.8 yrs9.4–12.6 |
| 7 | Talquin Electric CooperativeElectric cooperative | 15.5¢/kWh | $45.00/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Monthly (no annual bank) | 1000 kW AC | 11.0 yrs9.6–12.8 |
| 8 | Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC)Electric cooperative | 13.3¢/kWh | $20.00/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | December | 1000 kW AC | 11.4 yrs9.9–13.2 |
| 9 | Beaches Energy Services (Jacksonville Beach)Municipal utility | 13.0¢/kWh | $4.50/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | Monthly (no annual bank) | Not stated | 12.1 yrs10.5–14.1 |
| 10 | City of Winter Park Electric UtilityMunicipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 12.3¢/kWh | $16.98/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | December | 100 kW AC | 13.0 yrs11.4–15.2 |
| 11 | SECO Energy (Sumter Electric Cooperative)Electric cooperative | 14.8¢/kWh | $39.54/mo | none | Avoided cost, 9.50¢/kWh | — | 1000 kW AC | 13.1 yrs11.4–15.3 |
| 12 | Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC)Electric cooperative | 18.1¢/kWh | $50.19/mo | none | Avoided cost, 8.00¢/kWh | — | Not stated | 13.2 yrs11.5–15.3 |
| 13 | Lakeland ElectricMunicipal utility | 11.6¢/kWh | $15.25/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | December | 10 kW AC | 16.5 yrs14.4–19.1 |
| 14 | Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)Municipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 16.6¢/kWh | $17.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | Monthly (no annual bank) | 2000 kW AC | 17.4 yrs15.3–20.1 |
| 15 | Ocala Electric UtilityMunicipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 12.9¢/kWh | $20.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 5.00¢/kWh | December | 2000 kW AC | 17.5 yrs15.4–20.3 |
| 16 | Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC)Municipal utility | 13.2¢/kWh | $23.50/mo | none | Avoided cost, 5.47¢/kWh | Monthly (no annual bank) | 2000 kW AC | 17.6 yrs15.5–20.3 |
| 17 | Peace River Electric Cooperative (PRECO)Electric cooperative | 12.1¢/kWh | $28.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 5.68¢/kWh | Monthly (no annual bank) | 1000 kW AC | 17.8 yrs15.6–20.5 |
| 18 | Central Florida Electric Cooperative (CFEC)Electric cooperative | 14.9¢/kWh | $38.02/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.10¢/kWh | — | Not stated | 18.2 yrs16–21 |
| 19 | Gulf Coast Electric CooperativeElectric cooperative | 11.6¢/kWh | $35.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 8.50¢/kWh | — | 25 kW AC | 18.3 yrs16.1–21.1 |
| 20 | Fort Pierce Utilities AuthorityMunicipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 13.2¢/kWh | $7.45/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | December | 2000 kW AC | 18.5 yrs16.3–21.4 |
| 21 | Keys Energy ServicesMunicipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 13.0¢/kWh | $30.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | December | 2000 kW AC | 18.7 yrs16.4–21.6 |
| 22 | Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative (WREC)Electric cooperative · net-metering terms assumed | 10.3¢/kWh | $39.16/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | — | Not stated | 20.9 yrs18.4–24.1 |
| 23 | Okefenoke REMCElectric cooperative | 13.3¢/kWh | $40.45/mo | none | Avoided cost, 3.00¢/kWh | Monthly (no annual bank) | 250 kW AC | 21.3 yrs18.8–24.5 |
| 24 | Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative (CHELCO)Electric cooperative | 9.77¢/kWh | $35.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 3.98¢/kWh | — | 25 kW AC | 21.5 yrs19–24.7 |
| 25 | Clay Electric CooperativeElectric cooperative · net-metering terms assumed | 9.30¢/kWh | $37.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | — | 1000 kW AC | 22.7 yrs20–26 |
| 26 | West Florida Electric CooperativeElectric cooperative | 11.6¢/kWh | $35.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 5.20¢/kWh | December | 25 kW AC | 23.1 yrs20.4–26.6 |
| 27 | Escambia River Electric Cooperative (EREC)Electric cooperative | 10.6¢/kWh | $45.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 3.57¢/kWh | — | 25 kW AC | 28.2 yrs25.1–32.1 |
Not yet verified, so not ranked
These utilities publish no residential schedule we could read, or we have not yet confirmed it; their figures are placeholders built from the common Florida pattern and are shown for completeness only. If you can point us at the schedule, email mtsolarestimate@gmail.com.
| Florida Keys Electric Cooperative (FKEC)Electric cooperative | 15.1¢/kWh | $30.42/mo | none | Full retail rate (kWh banked) | January | 1000 kW AC | 10.1 yrs8.7–11.8 |
| Glades Electric CooperativeElectric cooperative · net-metering terms assumed | 14.0¢/kWh | $45.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | — | Not stated | 19.1 yrs16.8–22.1 |
| JEA (Jacksonville)Municipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 14.7¢/kWh | $21.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 5.00¢/kWh | Monthly (no annual bank) | Not stated | 16.8 yrs14.7–19.4 |
| Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA)Municipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 13.6¢/kWh | $10.17/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | December | 2000 kW AC | 19.0 yrs16.7–21.9 |
| Lake Worth Beach Electric UtilityMunicipal utility · net-metering terms assumed | 15.2¢/kWh | $11.97/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | Monthly (no annual bank) | Not stated | 18.2 yrs16–21.1 |
| New Smyrna Beach Utilities CommissionMunicipal utility | 13.0¢/kWh | $10.02/mo | none | Avoided cost, 2.94¢/kWh | December | 2000 kW AC | 21.4 yrs18.9–24.7 |
| Tri-County Electric Cooperative (Madison)Electric cooperative · net-metering terms assumed | 13.8¢/kWh | $28.00/mo | none | Avoided cost, 4.00¢/kWh | — | Not stated | 19.0 yrs16.7–22 |
Questions this table answers
- Which Florida utility is best for solar?
- By payback for a typical home, Florida Public Utilities (FPUC): about 10 years, because it credits every exported kWh at the full retail rate and has no demand charge. Escambia River Electric Cooperative (EREC) is at the other end at about 28 years. Your own usage, roof and heating move every utility's figure, which is what the estimate is for.
- Why does solar payback differ so much between utilities in the same state?
- Sunlight barely varies across Florida compared with the rules: whether exported kWh earn the full retail rate, only the energy charge, or an avoided-cost rate; whether a demand charge applies that solar cannot offset; how large the fixed charge is; and when the annual bank resets. Those terms are set by each utility or its regulator, and this table reads them from each utility's own schedule.
- Are these the rates I will pay?
- They are the residential schedules in force on November 1, 2026 at a typical home's use (1100 kWh a month), read from each utility's own document and linked on its page. Your bill names your schedule; time-of-use options, riders and seasonal tiers can move the figure.
How to read and reuse this
Every figure traces to the utility's own document, linked with its effective date on each utility's page; the payback is that page's worked example. The table is free to reuse with attribution to Florida Solar Estimate and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). It is a comparison of published rules, not advice; a licensed installer confirms your roof, equipment and price. Method: methodology.
Your address, your numbers
The estimate runs your utility's rules against your own usage, roof and heating. It takes about a minute and asks for no contact details.