If you have solar panels on your roof, your PG&E bill doesn't look like a normal electricity bill. It's longer. It's more complex. And at the end of every year, it can throw you a surprise bill that seems to come out of nowhere.
That's the NEM true-up bill — and it's the thing solar customers most consistently misunderstand.
This guide explains exactly what you're looking at when you open a solar PG&E bill: NEM credits, true-up mechanics, the PCIA charge that shows up whether you want it or not, and why your bills can look so different from your neighbor's if they have a different Community Choice Aggregation provider.
What Makes a Solar PG&E Bill Different
A standard (non-solar) PG&E bill has one generation charge: the electricity you bought from the grid. A solar bill has at least two — the electricity you bought from the grid, minus the excess electricity you sold back to the grid.
That's the basics. Here's why it gets complicated:
NEM (Net Energy Metering) is the framework that governs how your solar system interacts with the grid. When your panels produce more electricity than you're using, that excess flows back to the grid and you earn credits. When your panels aren't producing enough (at night, during winter, on cloudy days), you draw from the grid and use those credits up.
The critical word is "credits" — not money. NEM credits don't necessarily equal the value of the electricity you're buying back.
True-up is the annual settlement process. Every year, PG&E reconciles your NEM account. Any remaining credits are cashed out at a rate that's lower than what you paid. Any remaining usage balance is billed at your normal rate. For most customers, this results in either a small payment or a small credit — but for some customers, it results in a $500–$2,000 true-up bill that feels like a gut punch.
The gap between what NEM 2 customers earned and what NEM 3 customers earn is the central conflict in California solar right now. Understanding which rules apply to you is the first step to managing your bill.
Understanding NEM 2 vs NEM 3
California's Net Energy Metering program went through a major change in late 2022. If your system was interconnection-approved before April 14, 2023, you're on NEM 2.0. If it was approved after that date, you're on NEM 3.0 — also called NEM 3 or "NEM 3.0."
NEM 2.0
Under NEM 2, your excess generation is credited at a rate that's approximately equal to what you pay for electricity — your retail rate, which includes generation, transmission, distribution, and all the add-on charges.
The true-up process under NEM 2:
- Annual true-up of your NEM account
- Credits carry over month to month (no "true-up" until the anniversary date)
- Excess credits at true-up are paid out at the "average bundled service rate" — typically lower than retail, but reasonable
- You're protected from PCIA rate changes in a structured way (though PCIA still applies)
The key advantage of NEM 2: Your generation credits are worth roughly the same as your consumption charges. If you use 1 kWh at night and export 1 kWh during the day, you're roughly break-even on the generation portion of the bill.
NEM 3.0
NEM 3 fundamentally changed the economics. Under NEM 3, your excess generation is credited at the avoided cost rate — a much lower figure that reflects wholesale electricity prices, not retail prices.
Avoided cost rates in California are approximately $0.04–$0.08/kWh, compared to NEM 2 retail rates of $0.27–$0.60/kWh depending on tier and TOU period.
The true-up math for NEM 3:
| Scenario | NEM 2 | NEM 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Export 1 kWh during peak | ~$0.40 credit | ~$0.06 credit |
| Import 1 kWh during peak | ~$0.40 charge | ~$0.40 charge |
| Net on those 2 kWh | ~$0 | -$0.34 owed |
This is the core of the NEM 3 controversy: the asymmetry between export credits (very low) and import charges (retail rate). NEM 3 customers are effectively subsidizing grid usage by non-solar customers.
What NEM 3 customers should do:
- Maximize self-consumption — use your solar generation directly instead of exporting it
- Add battery storage to shift the use of excess solar to evening hours (when import prices are highest)
- Shift loads to daytime when your panels are producing
- Consider whether the value of export credits is worth pursuing vs. maximizing self-use
Your Annual True-Up Bill
Every solar customer on NEM gets an annual true-up statement. Here's how to read it.
When It Arrives
Your true-up is tied to your NEM interconnection anniversary date — the date your system was first connected to the grid. If that was July 14, 2022, your true-up statement typically arrives in August or September of each subsequent year.
Some customers see it as a "surprise" because it's not a monthly bill — it's a separate statement that can be easily missed if you're not looking for it.
What the True-Up Statement Shows
The true-up statement breaks down:
- NEM credits generated — how much electricity your system exported to the grid
- NEM credits consumed — how much of those credits you used to offset imports
- Net NEM position — whether you're a net exporter or net importer
- True-up amount — what you owe (or what PG&E owes you)
If you're a net exporter at true-up, PG&E pays you at the "average bundled service rate" (NEM 2) or avoided cost rate (NEM 3). If you're a net importer, you owe the difference.
Example: NEM 2 customer, 3,200 sq ft home in Pleasanton
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Solar system size | 7.2 kW |
| Annual exports | 3,800 kWh |
| Annual imports | 4,200 kWh |
| Net position | 400 kWh imported (net importer) |
| True-up charge | $187.40 |
This customer's annual true-up was $187 — a net importer because their usage (evening loads, winter production drop) exceeded their exports. Many customers in this position don't realize it until the statement arrives.
Example: NEM 2 customer, same home, with EV and battery
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Solar system size | 10 kW |
| Annual exports | 2,100 kWh |
| Annual imports | 1,400 kWh |
| Net position | 700 kWh exported (net exporter) |
| True-up credit | $289.60 |
Adding battery storage and shifting EV charging to solar hours made this customer a net exporter at true-up — turning a $187 charge into a $290 credit.
PCIA: The Charge Solar Customers Don't Like
The Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) appears on every PG&E bill for every customer — solar and non-solar alike. But solar customers tend to notice it more, and with good reason.
PCIA is a charge designed to ensure that customers who have their own generation (i.e., solar customers) still contribute to the cost of the grid infrastructure that they rely on. It's essentially a "grid participation fee."
The charge varies by rate schedule and by year. For a typical residential customer in 2026:
| Rate Plan | PCIA (approx. $/kWh) |
|---|---|
| E-1 | $0.04–$0.06/kWh |
| E-TOU-C | $0.04–$0.06/kWh |
| E-TOU-D | $0.04–$0.06/kWh |
| EV-2A | $0.04–$0.06/kWh |
PCIA is calculated on your total consumption — not your net consumption. If you import 500 kWh in a month but export 400 kWh, you pay PCIA on 500 kWh.
For NEM 3 customers, PCIA is one of the primary drivers of higher-than-expected true-up bills. The combination of low export credits and full PCIA exposure on imports creates a structural headwind that many NEM 3 customers didn't fully understand when they signed their contracts.
What to check on your bill:
- Find "Power Charge Indifference Adjustment" in the Electric Generation section
- Check if it has changed significantly from prior months
- Compare your PCIA rate against the current published PCIA rate for your rate schedule
MCE Bills: When Your Solar and Your CCA Don't Get Along
Marin Clean Energy (MCE) is a Community Choice Aggregation provider serving customers in Marin County, Richmond, and parts of San Jose. If you're an MCE customer and you have solar, your bill has a second layer of complexity.
MCE handles your electricity generation. PG&E handles your electricity delivery (the wires, poles, and meters). This split is true for all CCA customers, not just MCE — but MCE has the most common NEM-MCE combination, so it's worth explaining specifically.
The NEM-MCE situation in 2026:
When you sign up for MCE, you're choosing MCE as your generation provider. Your solar exports are credited to your MCE NEM account. Your solar imports are drawn from MCE's generation supply.
The billing formats MCE customers see:
Format 1: Standard MCE Bill (PG&E Delivery + MCE Generation)
- PG&E section: Delivery charges, transmission, distribution, PCIA, nuclear decommissioning, etc.
- MCE section: Generation charges from MCE, showing how much of your load was met by MCE vs. your solar
Format 2: True-Up Statement (NEM Settlement)
- Shows NEM credit activity for the year
- If you're an MCE customer on NEM, the true-up comes from MCE, not PG&E — this is a common point of confusion
Format 3: Year-End MCE NEM True-Up
- MCE publishes its own NEM true-up statement for all NEM customers
- Includes: annual exports, annual imports, net position, credit payout or charge due
- This is separate from the PG&E delivery charges and can arrive at a different time
Common NEM-MCE billing errors:
Generation charge appearing on PG&E statement — Sometimes PG&E's billing system shows MCE generation charges as a separate line item on the PG&E invoice, which is confusing. MCE's actual invoice is what matters for generation.
PCIA appearing to double-charge — PCIA is assessed by PG&E (not MCE) on delivery. MCE customers pay PCIA to PG&E, not to MCE. If you see what looks like a PCIA charge from MCE, check with MCE directly.
NEM true-up coming from two sources — For some MCE customers, both PG&E and MCE send NEM-related statements. The PG&E statement covers delivery; the MCE statement covers generation. Don't ignore either one.
Reading Your Monthly Solar Bill
Between true-up statements, your monthly bills look different from a non-solar customer's. Here's what to look at every month.
The Electric Generation Section
For solar customers, this section shows:
- Generation from PG&E (if any) — electricity you purchased from PG&E
- Generation from solar — electricity from your panels that was used on-site (doesn't appear as a dollar figure, but reduces your usage)
- NEM credits applied — credits from your exported generation applied against your consumption
The NEM Balance
Some bills include a NEM running balance showing your accumulated credits. Look for a line item labeled "NEM Credit Balance" or "Net Energy Metering Credit." This tells you how much credit you have stored.
Warning sign: Your NEM balance decreasing over time without a corresponding change in your usage or export patterns. This could indicate:
- A panel performance issue (panels not producing as expected)
- A billing error
- A rate plan change that's affecting credit value
The Delivery Charges
Solar customers sometimes overlook the delivery charges because they're focused on generation. Don't make this mistake.
Delivery charges — transmission, distribution, and the various add-ons — make up 50–60% of a typical solar customer's total bill. These charges don't change based on how much solar you have; they're based on how much electricity you draw from the grid.
If your delivery charges are higher than expected:
- Check your rate plan — are you on the right TOU schedule?
- Check your baseline territory — are you being charged the correct baseline allocation?
- Look for phantom loads or unexplained high usage
Common Solar Billing Errors
Based on analyzing solar PG&E bills, these errors show up most frequently:
Error 1: Wrong NEM Anniversary Date
Some customers are billed as if their true-up is at a different date than their actual interconnection anniversary. This creates a mismatch between when you expect your true-up and when it actually arrives.
What to do: Get your NEM interconnection letter from PG&E or your installer. Confirm the date. Compare it to the "NEM True-Up Date" shown on your bill. If they don't match, contact PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
Error 2: NEM 3 Rules Applied to NEM 2 Customer
This is rarer but does happen. When PG&E updated billing systems for NEM 3, some NEM 2 customers' accounts were misconfigured and credited at NEM 3 avoided-cost rates instead of their correct NEM 2 retail rates.
What to do: Compare your export credits against current retail rates for your rate plan. If your credit per kWh is significantly below what you pay per kWh for imports, something may be misconfigured.
Error 3: MCE Generation Double-Charged
Some MCE customers see generation charges from both MCE and PG&E in the same billing period. This is a billing system glitch that typically resolves on its own within one or two billing cycles — but if it persists for more than two months, escalate it.
Error 4: PCIA Calculated on Net Instead of Gross Usage
PCIA should be calculated on your gross consumption (total imports), not your net consumption. If you're being charged PCIA on net usage only, you're being undercharged — but PG&E's billing system handles this correctly in almost all cases.
Error 5: True-Up Arriving Without Notice
Some customers receive a true-up bill and don't understand what it's for. The bill may show a substantial amount due with no prior warning.
What to do: Sign up for NEM balance alerts through your PG&E account. Check your NEM balance monthly. If it trends negative over time, take action before the true-up hits.
How to Minimize Your True-Up Bill
Whether you're on NEM 2 or NEM 3, there are concrete steps to reduce your annual true-up exposure:
Maximize Self-Consumption
Every kilowatt-hour of solar generation you use directly is worth far more than the same kilowatt-hour exported to the grid under NEM 3. Under NEM 2, the gap is smaller, but self-consumption is still more valuable.
High-value loads to shift to solar hours:
- EV charging (start at noon, finish by 3pm if possible)
- Pool pumps
- Dishwashers and laundry (start mid-morning)
- Air conditioning (pre-cool the house during solar hours)
Add Battery Storage
Battery storage is the single biggest lever for NEM 3 customers. A home battery system lets you:
- Store excess solar production during the day
- Discharge during peak evening hours (4–9pm) when import prices are highest
- Reduce the gap between cheap exports and expensive imports
For NEM 3 customers with a 10+ kW system, the economics of battery storage have improved substantially in 2025–2026 as avoided cost rates have remained low and evening peak rates have remained high.
Example: 13.5 kWh battery, NEM 3 customer
| Month | Without Battery | With Battery | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | -$142 true-up | +$28 credit | $170 |
| July | -$198 true-up | -$34 charge | $164 |
| August | -$167 true-up | +$12 credit | $179 |
The battery won't eliminate true-up bills, but it materially reduces them for NEM 3 customers.
Review Your Rate Plan
Some solar customers are on the wrong rate plan, which creates a mismatch between their generation pattern and their load. If you're a net importer at true-up and you're on E-TOU-C or E-TOU-D, switching to E-TOU-D (or E-ELEC) might reduce your peak exposure.
EV-2A remains the cheapest residential rate for customers who can charge overnight — and for solar customers, overnight charging means drawing from both your NEM credits and your battery, not from the grid at peak rates.
Check Your Panel Performance
If your panels are underperforming — due to shading, soiling, inverter issues, or a manufacturing defect — you're importing more electricity than you should be, which increases your true-up exposure.
Use your inverter's monitoring app or an online monitoring platform (Enphase, SolarEdge, etc.) to check:
- Current output vs. expected output for your location and system size
- Any days or periods with unusually low production
- Inverter status and error codes
A 15% drop in panel performance can cost $40–$80/month in increased grid imports.
How My Big Bill Handles Solar Bills
The bill analysis engine handles solar NEM bills the same way it handles standard bills — it extracts all line items, identifies billing errors, and compares rate plans. For solar customers, it also:
- Identifies NEM status — detects whether you're on NEM 2 or NEM 3 from the bill text
- Flags true-up risk — alerts if your NEM balance suggests a large true-up is coming
- Analyzes export/import ratio — shows whether you're a net exporter or net importer
- Checks PCIA rates — verifies PCIA charges against current published rates
- Detects MCE/Cca billing — reads MCE generation charges and flags any billing anomalies
Upload your solar bill (or any monthly statement, including your annual true-up) and you'll get a complete breakdown of every line item, any errors detected, and a clear picture of your true-up exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the NEM true-up date?
Your NEM true-up date is your system's interconnection anniversary — the date your system was first connected to the grid. It's typically one year from installation. Your true-up statement arrives 30–60 days after that date. You can find your interconnection date on the NEM documentation PG&E or your installer provided at install, or by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
I just got a $800 true-up bill. Is this normal?
It depends on your system size, usage pattern, and NEM version. For NEM 2 customers, a true-up of a few hundred dollars is common if you're a net importer. For NEM 3 customers, true-up bills in the $500–$2,000 range are increasingly common — NEM 3's export rate structure makes it very difficult to be a net exporter at the end of the year without battery storage. My Big Bill can analyze your monthly bills to project what your next true-up will look like.
Should I add battery storage to reduce my true-up bill?
For NEM 3 customers with significant evening loads, yes — battery storage is the most effective lever. For NEM 2 customers, the economics are less clear-cut: NEM 2 export credits are more valuable, so the marginal benefit of storage is lower. The payback period for a home battery system in California in 2026 is approximately 7–12 years, depending on usage patterns and current incentive availability.
What is PCIA on my solar bill?
PCIA stands for Power Charge Indifference Adjustment. It's a charge that ensures customers with their own generation still contribute to grid infrastructure costs. It applies to all customers, solar and non-solar. It is calculated on your gross consumption (total imports), not your net usage. PCIA rates change quarterly and vary by rate schedule.
My MCE bill is confusing. Who do I call?
For MCE-specific billing issues — generation charges, MCE NEM true-up — contact MCE directly at 1-866-632-6300 or customercare@mceCleanEnergy.org. For delivery issues — wires, poles, meters, PCIA, distribution charges — contact PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
Do I need to do anything before my NEM true-up date?
Check your NEM balance in your online PG&E account (My Energy → NEM Usage). If it's trending negative (you're using more than you're exporting), look for opportunities to reduce evening usage or add battery storage before the anniversary date. If you're a NEM 2 customer, there's no action required unless your balance is significantly negative.
Related articles:
- PG&E Bill Audit: The Complete Guide to Finding Errors and Saving Money
- NEM 3.0 vs NEM 2.0 — Which Saves More in 2026?
- How to Read Your PG&E Bill
- PG&E Rate Plans Compared
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