Net metering is easy to describe and confusing to read on an actual bill. Here are my real FPL bills — before solar, right after, and the most recent twelve months — and what the lines mean.
Before and after, in dollars
In 2023, with no solar and no electric car, I made 12 FPL payments totaling $4,268.92, from $211.84 to $505.56 a month. Solar started producing in December 2023, and FPL approved net metering on January 16, 2024. By March 2024 my payments had dropped to FPL’s $25.66 minimum, and they stayed there through August 2024.
What I paid FPL, 2023–2024
Dollars per payment
From my FPL payment confirmation emails. Payments lag the bill by about a month (two payments fell in July 2024 and none in June). EVolution EV charging was added July 13, 2024.
The September 2024 payment ($98.71) is where the car shows up. I enrolled in FPL EVolution on July 13, 2024 to charge a Model X at home — more on that in charging a Model X on FPL EVolution.
The last 12 bills (ending November 2025 through October 2026) came to about $974, plus the $18.41 monthly EVolution Home charge (about $221 a year). That’s about $1,195 a year all-in, including fueling the car, compared with $4,269 for the house alone in 2023.
How net metering shows up in kWh
The main meter counts two things: power FPL delivered to me (mostly at night and on cloudy days) and power FPL received from me (extra solar in the middle of the day). I’m billed on the difference.
Delivered vs. received, bill by bill
kWh per bill
My FPL bills, main house meter. The car is on a separate EV sub-meter and isn’t included here.
| Bill ending | Delivered kWh | Received kWh | Net kWh | Bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-14 | 865 | 373 | 492 | $84.17 |
| 2025-11-12 | 718 | 624 | 94 | $38.83 |
| 2025-12-11 | 748 | 284 | 464 | $80.69 |
| 2026-01-12 | 1,576 | 668 | 908 | $145.37 |
| 2026-02-12 | 1,749 | 913 | 836 | $136.34 |
| 2026-03-13 | 1,296 | 1,236 | 60 | $38.70 |
| 2026-04-13 | 701 | 1,070 | -369 | $31.14 |
| 2026-05-13 | 1,052 | 1,504 | -452 | $32.52 |
| 2026-06-12 | 1,488 | 1,676 | -188 | $31.14 |
| 2026-07-14 | 2,051 | 1,134 | 917 | $48.91 |
| 2026-08-13 | 1,960 | 955 | 1,005 | $149.34 |
| 2026-09-14 | 1,771 | 1,020 | 751 | $121.43 |
| 2026-10-13 | 1,502 | 799 | 703 | $119.60 |
Three spring bills (ending April, May and June 2026) went negative: I sent FPL more than it sent me. Those bills were about $31, which is essentially the base charge, taxes and the car’s flat off-peak fee. The extra kWh rolled forward as credit and appear to have been used up in July, which would explain why July’s bill ($48.91) stayed low despite heavy air conditioning. My October 2026 bill shows the kWh reserve back at 0.
Notice that even with 24.65 kW of solar, summer still costs money. The house uses 3,700–4,200 kWh a month in June and July 2026 (Tesla app, car excluded), and solar makes about 3,300. Spring is the opposite: mild weather, strong sun, and a credit.
Reading the October 2026 bill
- Base charge: $10.52. You pay this no matter what.
- Non-fuel energy: $0.09365/kWh for the first 1,000 kWh and $0.10365 above that.
- Fuel: $0.02893/kWh for the first 1,000 and $0.03893 above. FPL passes fuel cost straight through.
- So the marginal cost of a house kWh is about 12.3¢, or 14.3¢ above 1,000 kWh, before taxes. That’s what each solar kWh I produce is worth to me.
- “799 kWh were sent to the grid this period. 799 kWh were applied to reduce your bill.” That’s the 1:1 net metering credit in FPL’s own words.
- EV off-peak: $19.81 flat for 903 kWh on the EV meter, with 0 kWh on-peak. On-peak would have been billed at $0.27067/kWh.
- FPL EVolution Home charge: $18.41, the home-charger program fee.
The total that month was $138.03 for a house that netted 703 kWh from FPL and a car that used 903 kWh.
A full year, two ways of counting
The FPL meter and the Tesla app tell the same story from different ends. FPL only sees what crosses the meter. The Tesla app sees everything the panels make, including the power my house uses before it ever reaches the meter. Here’s 2025, the last full calendar year, from the Tesla app:
| 2025, Tesla app | kWh |
|---|---|
| Solar produced | 31,300 |
| … used directly in the house | 19,550 (62.5%) |
| … sent to FPL | 11,750 |
| House use, car excluded | 34,400 |
| Model X charging (separate EV meter) | 11,540 |
| Net bought from FPL, house and car | about 15,150 |
So in 2025 the panels covered roughly 91% of the house’s own use (31,300 of 34,400 kWh) over the year. Counting the car, solar covered about 43% of everything I used directly, and the car alone explains most of what I still buy. That’s why my FPL total isn’t close to zero, and why I’d be careful with any claim that solar “wipes out” a bill.
Why the bill never hits zero
Even in my three credit months the bill was about $31. A few charges don’t care how much solar you make:
- The $10.52 base charge shows up every month.
- The car’s fixed fees: $19.81 for off-peak EV charging (on the bill) and the $18.41 EVolution Home charge (billed separately).
- Taxes and fees: on the October 2026 bill, $2.99 of gross receipts tax and a $0.12 regulatory fee.
- Summer air conditioning. July 2026 the house used 4,200 kWh and solar made 3,300. Banked spring credit covered the gap that month, but August and September had nothing left to draw on.
The tiered rate matters too. Every kWh over 1,000 in a bill period costs about 2¢ more than the first 1,000. Solar takes the expensive kWh off the top first, which is why my per-kWh savings estimate is a bit higher in summer than in spring.
What I’d check before signing up for net metering
Net metering is approved by FPL separately from the installer’s permit. My panels started producing in December 2023, but FPL’s approval came on January 16, 2024. In between, power I sent out wasn’t being credited the same way, so I count only the solar the house used directly for that stretch in my savings estimate. Ask your installer how long the utility step takes, and don’t turn on export before you’re told it’s approved.
What to watch on your own bill
- Find the “sent to the grid” line. If received kWh is near zero in a sunny month, something isn’t producing or reporting. Call your installer.
- Expect the minimum bill in spring. March through June is when solar most often beats the house.
- Summer is the real test. Air conditioning makes July and August my most expensive months even with solar.
- Track the kWh reserve. Credits roll forward month to month, but leftovers at the annual settlement are paid out at a much lower rate, so oversizing doesn’t pay.
- Keep a year of old bills. It’s the only honest before-and-after you’ll have. Mine are why I can show a real break-even.