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Naperville Solar in 2026: The City Runs Its Own Utility, the $1,750 Rebate Is Spent, and Credits Pay 4.9¢ If You Oversize
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Naperville Solar in 2026: The City Runs Its Own Utility, the $1,750 Rebate Is Spent, and Credits Pay 4.9¢ If You Oversize

Ryan Cook•

Naperville homeowners are not ComEd customers. The City of Naperville runs its own electric utility, and that changes every number in a solar quote: for 2026 the City charges $21.52 a month plus 11.968¢ per kWh, solar exports earn a one-for-one kWh credit that expires every March 31 and cashes out at 4.9¢, and the City's $1,750 solar rebate has been fully awarded since June 26, 2026. If a quote, a calculator, or a salesperson used ComEd's rates for your Naperville address, the savings figure is wrong before you read past the first page.

I run into this more than you'd think. Most solar software picks a utility by zip code or county, sees DuPage or Will, and assumes ComEd. Most national "Naperville solar" guides do the same thing, and then they advertise a rebate nobody can get until at least next year. Here's how it actually works, from the City's own pages.

Key facts for Naperville solar in 2026

Item Figure Window / source
Electric provider City of Naperville Electric Utility (wholesale power through IMEA) Not ComEd; the City sets its own rates
Residential customer charge $21.52 per month 2026 rates, effective January 2026
Residential energy charge 11.968¢ per kWh 2026 rates, effective January 2026
City's average home 844 kWh per month, $122.53 City rate table, 2026
Projected average bill $129.68 per month City projection for 2027
Net metering credit 1 kWh for 1 kWh, energy portion only City's 2025 net metering changes
Credit expiration March 31 each year Paid out in April
Payout for expired credits 4.9¢ per kWh (avoided cost rate) Current rate per the City
System size limit No residential cap; under 1 MW and "reasonably sized" City's 2025 net metering changes
City solar rebate $250 per kW AC, 7 kW AC max, up to $1,750 100% of $280,000 awarded as of 6/26/26
Rebate conditions Must own the system; apply within 120 days of final inspection; $5 a month for 5 years Leased systems ineligible

One small wrinkle I'll flag for accuracy: the City's rate page prints two average-bill numbers. The rate table shows $122.53 for 844 kWh, and the paragraph above it says $121.87. The table's figure matches the arithmetic ($21.52 plus 844 kWh at 11.968¢), so that's the one I use.

Why "not ComEd" matters so much

A solar system doesn't save you a percentage. It saves you kilowatt-hours, and each kilowatt-hour is worth whatever your utility would have charged for it. That's the whole game.

In a ComEd town this summer, a kWh you don't buy avoids 10.399¢ of supply (the Price to Compare through September 30, 2026) and 6.333¢ of delivery. Call it 16.7¢ before taxes and riders. I broke down every line of that in the ComEd delivery charge post, and the current figures live on our ComEd rates page.

In Naperville, the same kWh avoids 11.968¢. That's it. One flat energy charge, no separate supply and delivery lines.

Put the City's average home on both rate sheets and you can see the gap:

844 kWh in a month Naperville (2026) ComEd (summer 2026, est.)
Fixed monthly charges $21.52 $19.37
Per-kWh charges $101.01 (11.968¢) $141.22 (16.732¢)
Total before taxes and riders $122.53 about $160.59

The ComEd column is my estimate from the published supply and delivery rates, and it leaves out taxes and small riders on both sides. The City says its rates run about 16% below surrounding communities on average. In a summer month, by my math, the gap is wider than that.

Naperville residents get cheaper power. Good for them. But it means a solar kWh earns roughly 28% less on the bill than it would a few blocks away in Aurora or Lisle. A quote built on ComEd's rate overstates Naperville savings by about that much, every year, for the life of the system.

Net metering: generous on size, strict on overproduction

The City rewrote its net metering rules in 2025. The new policy covers every solar customer in town and requires a signed Interconnection Agreement. Three pieces matter.

The credit. You're credited one kWh for every kWh you send to the grid, applied against the electric energy portion of your City utility bill. The City's language is specific that this doesn't include the meter fee or any demand charge. In practice, your $21.52 customer charge is the floor. That's $258.24 a year you'll pay with a perfect system on a perfect roof.

The bank. Unused credits pile up month to month, so summer surplus can cover winter shortfall. Then the account resets. Credits expire on March 31 every year, and in April the City pays you for whatever was left at 4.9¢ per kWh, which it describes as its avoided cost rate.

The size rule. The old residential size restrictions are gone. The only limits left are that the array is mainly meant to cover your own usage, stays under 1 MW, and is "reasonably sized as determined by the Utility."

Here's my take. The no-cap rule sounds like an invitation to fill the roof. The 4.9¢ payout is the reason not to. If your system makes 1,000 kWh more than you use in a year, those kWh earn you $49.00 in April. Had they offset your own usage, they'd have been worth $119.68. You paid full price for the panels that made them either way. In Naperville, the right-sized system is the one that lands just under your annual usage, not over it.

That makes your usage history the most important document in the whole process. Pull a full twelve months from your City utility account before anyone designs anything. A month or two of bills won't do it, because the March 31 reset is an annual calculation. ComEd and Ameren customers face a similar spring reset, which I covered in the post on when net metering credits expire in Illinois, but Naperville's cash-out rate and date are its own.

The $1,750 rebate: real, but spent for 2026

The City's solar incentive pays $250 per kW AC, measured at the inverter, up to 7 kW AC. That's a $1,750 maximum, and most home systems are big enough to hit it.

It isn't available right now. The City's solar page states that as of June 26, 2026, Naperville had awarded 100% of the $280,000 budgeted for Renewable Energy Program incentives, and that applications close for the rest of the calendar year once the money is awarded. The same pool covers attic insulation, single-pane window replacement, AC tune-ups, and furnace blower motors, so solar was competing with a lot of other projects. The page is blunt about what happens next: "Incentives will end when funding is expended. There will be no waiting lists."

If the pool is refilled in a future budget, the conditions on the City's page are these:

  • You have to own the system. "Leased systems are ineligible for the incentive."
  • A 100% complete application is due within 120 days of passing final inspection.
  • Nothing is paid until the system is complete, operating, and has passed the City's final inspection.
  • You agree to contribute $5 a month to the Naperville Renewable Energy Program for five years. That's $300, so the net value of a full rebate is about $1,450.
  • One award per customer. Adding panels later doesn't earn a second one.

The timing trap is the part I'd want a neighbor to understand. You can't apply until after final inspection, and the money is first come, first served. This year it ran out before the end of June. A project that gets inspected in the back half of the year is, on this year's evidence, too late. If the rebate matters to your budget, plan the install for early in the calendar year and file the day the inspector signs off. Nobody can promise you the rebate, and any quote that subtracts $1,750 from your price as a sure thing should lose a little of your trust.

What still stacks: Illinois Shines, yes. Federal credit, no.

Illinois Shines, the state's renewable energy credit program, isn't limited to ComEd and Ameren customers. The program's own consumer FAQ says projects in municipal electric utility and rural electric cooperative territories are eligible to participate. For a Naperville homeowner who buys a system, that's usually the largest incentive on the table: a payment for the renewable energy credits the system is expected to produce over 15 years. The amount depends on system size and the program's current pricing, and you can get a rough number from our REC calculator or read how the program works on the Illinois Shines page. Treat any figure as an estimate until an Approved Vendor puts it in your disclosure form.

The same FAQ carries a warning worth repeating: each municipal utility sets its own net metering value, and you should ask your solar company what your utility's rate is. If the person across the table can't tell you 4.9¢ and March 31 without looking it up, they haven't sold in Naperville before.

The federal residential tax credit for purchased systems ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. I wrote about what that did to the math in the tax credit post. Don't let a 30% credit show up in a 2026 cash or loan quote.

One more honest note about leases. Across most of Illinois I lead with a $0-down lease, because it's the simplest way for most families to get a predictable energy cost. The lease programs I work with are built around ComEd and Ameren service territories, so for Naperville addresses I generally quote purchases, cash or financed. That happens to fit the City's rules anyway, since the rebate is owner-only. If you're weighing the two in general, the lease vs. buy comparison lays out the trade-offs.

A rough Naperville example

Every number here is an estimate, and your roof will differ.

The City's average home uses 844 kWh a month, about 10,100 kWh a year. A 7 kW AC system on a decent south or west roof in northern Illinois produces somewhere around 1,200 to 1,300 kWh per kW per year by my rule of thumb, so figure roughly 8,750 kWh. That's about 86% of the average home's usage, comfortably under the overproduction line.

At the 2026 rate, 8,750 kWh offsets approximately $1,047 a year in City energy charges. The $21.52 customer charge stays. Illinois Shines payments for a purchased system come on top. The City already projects its average bill rising from $122.53 to $129.68 in 2027, about 6%, so the value of each offset kWh should drift up with it.

Is that enough? It depends on the installed price, the REC payment, and how long you plan to stay. It's a slower payback than the same system in a ComEd suburb, and I'd rather tell you that up front than have you find out from your first April statement. For what installed prices look like this year, see the real cost of solar panels in Illinois.

The process runs through City Hall

Permits, interconnection, inspection, and permission to operate are all the City's. The City publishes a solar checklist and a residential capacity map that shows whether the grid on your block can take more solar today or needs an upgrade first. Check that map before you sign anything.

Interconnection approval is only granted once both you and the City have signed the Interconnection Agreement. Permission to operate comes after a City electrical inspector passes the final inspection. One detail people miss: if you ever re-roof, the City requires a building permit to put the same system back up. If your shingles have fewer than ten good years left, handle the roof first. Our free roof check is a fast way to see what your roof can hold, and the general timeline from install to switch-on is in the post on permission to operate in Illinois.

Bottom line

Naperville is a good town to own solar in and a bad town to oversize it in. The rate is lower than ComEd's, so each kWh saves less. The credit bank resets every March 31 at 4.9¢. The City rebate exists but was gone by late June this year. Illinois Shines still applies, the federal credit doesn't, and the whole thing should be designed from twelve months of your actual City usage.

If you want a second set of eyes on a Naperville quote, or a design built on the City's real rate instead of ComEd's, call me at (618) 217-2001 or send a note through the contact page. I'll tell you if the numbers work, and I'll tell you if they don't.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Naperville has a residential solar rebate on the books, but the 2026 money is gone. The City's Renewable Energy Program pays $250 per kW AC, measured at the inverter, with a 7 kW AC cap, so the most any home can get is $1,750. The City's solar page says that as of June 26, 2026, it had awarded 100% of the $280,000 budgeted for the year, and that applications close for the rest of the calendar year once the funds are awarded. There is no waiting list. The rebate also has strings: you have to own the system, because leased systems are ineligible, you have to file a complete application within 120 days of passing final inspection, and you agree to pay $5 a month into the Renewable Energy Program for five years. That's $300 back to the City, so the net benefit is about $1,450. Whether the 2027 budget refills the pool is a City Council decision.
No. Homes inside Naperville city limits get electricity from the City of Naperville Electric Utility, a municipal utility that buys wholesale power through the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. ComEd serves the towns around it, which is why so many online rate tools and solar calculators get Naperville wrong. The difference shows up everywhere. Your bill comes from the City, combined with water. There's no Price to Compare and no alternative supplier shopping, because the City sets its own rates. For 2026 the residential rate is a $21.52 monthly customer charge plus 11.968¢ for every kWh, according to the City's electric rates page. Net metering rules, interconnection paperwork, the final electrical inspection, and permission to operate all run through City Hall instead of ComEd. One thing that doesn't change: the state's Illinois Shines program includes municipal utility territories, so a Naperville homeowner who buys a system can still earn renewable energy credit payments.
Naperville credits solar exports one kWh for one kWh against the electric energy portion of your City utility bill. The City rewrote the policy in 2025, and the new version applies to every solar customer and requires a signed Interconnection Agreement. Credits you don't use roll forward month to month, which lets a big July carry part of a dark January. They don't roll forever. Any credits still sitting in your account expire on March 31 each year, and the City pays you for them in April at its avoided cost rate, currently 4.9¢ per kWh. That's well under half of the 11.968¢ each kWh is worth when it offsets your own usage. Credits also can't touch the fixed fees. The City's policy excludes the meter fee and any demand charge, so the $21.52 monthly customer charge stays on the bill no matter how much your roof produces. Size the system to your own annual usage and the math holds up.
They can be, but the math is tighter in Naperville than in a ComEd town, and anyone who tells you otherwise is using the wrong rate. Every kWh your panels cover is worth 11.968¢ in Naperville. Next door on ComEd, the same kWh offsets about 16.7¢ of summer supply and delivery, so Naperville solar earns roughly 28% less per kWh on the bill side. A 7 kW system producing an estimated 8,750 kWh a year would offset approximately $1,047 of City electric charges annually at 2026 rates. On top of that, a purchased system can earn Illinois Shines renewable energy credit payments, which often decide whether the numbers work. What's off the table in 2026: the federal residential tax credit for purchased systems ended after 2025, and the City's $1,750 rebate is fully awarded for the year. Get a quote built on your real twelve-month usage from the City, priced at the City's rate.

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