If you look at the best solar markets in the U.S., they all have one thing in common: a strong net metering policy. Net metering–or NEM–allows you to earn credits for any excess solar electricity you send to the grid when your solar panel system generates more than you need. 

Soon, California will release the third iteration of net metering, or NEM 3.0. In February 2022, the state of California decided to delay making a final decision on net metering until further notice. As of November 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) plans to make a final decision on December 15th 2022 and NEM 3.0 could go live as early as April 14th, 2023. We don’t know exactly how credit values will change, or what they’ll change to, but we do know that whatever happens will have large implications for the country’s leading solar market. We’ll continue to keep this article updated with the most recent news on NEM 3.0, and in the meantime, discuss some of the proposed changes to the state’s current net metering policy, along with timelines.