Does Lakeland Electric pay for excess solar power?

Excess power is banked as kWh at the full retail rate and drawn down in later months. The bank resets in December, and anything left is forfeited to the utility.

How big a solar system can I net-meter with Lakeland Electric?

Systems up to 10 kW AC qualify for net metering.

Does Lakeland Electric have a demand charge?

Lakeland Electric has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.

What would solar cost and save for a typical Lakeland Electric home?

For a electrically heated home using about 1100 kWh a month, a net-zero system is about 8.9 kW, costs roughly $19,288 to $23,574 installed, saves $1,006 to $1,152 in the first year, and pays back in 14.4 to 19.1 years at 2.7% a year rate growth. Your address gives a real figure in about a minute.

What federal incentives apply in 2026?

Florida exempts solar equipment from sales tax and keeps the value it adds off your property-tax bill, and both are already in these figures. Business-owned systems, including rental property, qualify for the 30% federal investment credit (Section 48E) and bonus depreciation when placed in service by the end of 2027; tax-exempt owners receive the 30% as cash. Not tax advice.

Where do these numbers come from?

The rate figures are read from Lakeland Electric's own published schedule and net-metering policy (linked under Sources), last checked November 1, 2026. The worked example runs the same engine as the estimator, using a production reference for Lakeland and Florida installed-cost data. If you spot an error, email us and we will correct it.

Municipal utility

Solar with Lakeland Electric

Lakeland Electric members pay 11.6¢ per kWh and no demand charge; a typical home's solar pays back in about 17 years.

See the numbers for your address

Energy rate

11.6¢/kWh

tiered by monthly use

Fixed charge

$15/mo

$15 minimum bill

Demand charge

None

every offset kWh saves the full rate

Net-metering limit

10 kW AC

bank resets in December

Residential schedule effective October 1, 2026; checked November 1, 2026. Sources.

What this means for solar

Excess power is banked as kWh at the full retail rate and drawn down in later months. The bank resets in December, and anything left is forfeited to the utility.
Lakeland Electric has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.
Systems up to 10 kW AC qualify for net metering; above that, capacity would run without export credit.
Net-metered accounts move to a flat 7.70¢ per kWh schedule.

A typical home: 1100 kWh a month, electric heat

Net-zero system

8.9 kW

1478 kWh per kW per year

Installed cost

as low as$19,288

up to $23,574

First-year savings

up to$1,152

at least $1,006

Payback

as low as14.4 yrs

14.4–19.1 yrs at 2.7%/yr

Best-case figures with the range shown; Florida's tax exemptions included. Production reference: Lakeland. Your roof, usage and heating change every number, which is what the estimate is for.

Full schedule and net-metering rules

Fixed charge: $15 per month; minimum bill $15
Energy: 10.56¢ up to 1,000 kWh; 11.58¢ up to 1,500 kWh; 12.30¢ above that
Net metering: Solar customers move to the RSD demand plan: energy at 7.704c/kWh all-in (2.819c base + fuel + environmental) and a solar demand charge of $6.08 per kW of monthly billing demand (ordinance: $7.05 less $0.927 Value-of-Solar credit). Lakeland's solar page: customer-owned generation 'is credited back to the customer at the full retail rate' of that plan, metered kWh sent to Lakeland credited each month; residential PV up to 10 kW; parallel-connection agreement required. Annual true-up/payout terms not stated (no payout assumed).
Notes: Ordinance 26-021 requires every residential customer with interconnected solar to take Rate Schedule RSD (demand plan): $15.25 customer, energy 2.819c + fuel 4.7c + environmental 0.185c = 7.704c/kWh, demand $7.05/kW of billing demand less a Value-of-Solar credit of $0.927/kW (rate sheet shows 'Demand Charge Solar $6.08'). Scheduled increases: Oct 1 2027 $16.00 / 5.787c-7.077c-7.830c; 2028 $16.75; 2029 $17.50. Fuel reset quarterly.
Effective: October 1, 2026; checked November 1, 2026

Questions members ask

Does Lakeland Electric pay for excess solar power?: Excess power is banked as kWh at the full retail rate and drawn down in later months. The bank resets in December, and anything left is forfeited to the utility.
How big a solar system can I net-meter with Lakeland Electric?: Systems up to 10 kW AC qualify for net metering.
Does Lakeland Electric have a demand charge?: Lakeland Electric has no residential demand charge, so every kWh solar offsets saves the full energy rate.
What would solar cost and save for a typical Lakeland Electric home?: For a electrically heated home using about 1100 kWh a month, a net-zero system is about 8.9 kW, costs roughly $19,288 to $23,574 installed, saves $1,006 to $1,152 in the first year, and pays back in 14.4 to 19.1 years at 2.7% a year rate growth. Your address gives a real figure in about a minute.
What federal incentives apply in 2026?: Florida exempts solar equipment from sales tax and keeps the value it adds off your property-tax bill, and both are already in these figures. Business-owned systems, including rental property, qualify for the 30% federal investment credit (Section 48E) and bonus depreciation when placed in service by the end of 2027; tax-exempt owners receive the 30% as cash. Not tax advice.
Where do these numbers come from?: The rate figures are read from Lakeland Electric's own published schedule and net-metering policy (linked under Sources), last checked November 1, 2026. The worked example runs the same engine as the estimator, using a production reference for Lakeland and Florida installed-cost data. If you spot an error, email us and we will correct it.

Service area

Lakeland Electric's service territory (highlighted). Hover a region to see its utility.

Solar by city in Lakeland Electric's area: Lakeland. All Florida cities.

Other Florida utilities: JEA (Jacksonville), Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), City of Tallahassee Utilities, Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA), Ocala Electric Utility. All 34 utilities.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the documents below. We print the schedule’s effective date and the date we last read it; when a utility publishes nothing, we say so instead of guessing quietly.

Residential rate schedule: fixed charge, energy rate
Lakeland Electric Rates eff. Oct 1 2026 (rate sheet + Ordinance 26-021): customer charge $15.25; energy 5.673c (<=1000)/6.699c (1001-1500)/7.412c (>1500); fuel 4.700c (Resolution 26-046, $47.00/MWh from Oct 1 2026); environmental 0.18506c => 10.558c/11.584c/12.297c.
Effective October 1, 2026 · Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
Net-metering / distributed-generation policy
Solar customers move to the RSD demand plan: energy at 7.704c/kWh all-in (2.819c base + fuel + environmental) and a solar demand charge of $6.08 per kW of monthly billing demand (ordinance: $7.05 less $0.927 Value-of-Solar credit). Lakeland's solar page: customer-owned generation 'is credited back to the customer at the full retail rate' of that plan, metered kWh sent to Lakeland credited each month; residential PV up to 10 kW; parallel-connection agreement required. Annual true-up/payout terms not stated (no payout assumed).
Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
Service territory on the map
HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (U.S. DHS / Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Florida subset, 2020 vintage; boundaries are coarse at town edges
Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source
Worked example: production, installed cost, savings and payback
Florida Solar Estimate engine: PVGIS-ERA5-based production reference for Lakeland (1478 kWh per kW per year after shading and soiling and orientation), installed-cost ladder (Florida cash-price range, Oct 2026), 2.7%/yr rate escalation and 0.5%/yr panel degradation
Checked November 1, 2026 · Read from the primary source

Spot an error or a rate change? Email mtsolarestimate@gmail.com. How the estimate itself is built: methodology.

Your address, your numbers

Roof, usage and heating change everything above. The estimate takes about a minute and asks for no contact details.