Aurora allows modifications to utility rates to ensure accurate electricity cost modeling. This article explains how to edit pre-solar and post-solar rates, adjust compensation policies, and modify rate settings such as Export Rate, Billing Frequency, True-up Period and Rate Criteria. Changes to these settings can have a big impact on projected bill savings, as defined below.

Table of Contents

How to Edit Utility Rates

Steps to Edit Utility Rates

Compensation Policy

Export Rate

Billing Frequency

True-up Period

Rate Details (Genability Rate Criteria)

How to Edit Utility Rates

Updating the pre-solar rate applies the change to all existing designs in the project. Updating the post-solar rate applies only to newly created designs. Existing designs remain unchanged unless manually updated in Design Mode. 

Steps to Edit Utility Rates

1. Open the View Rate Drawer from one of the following locations:
   • Project > Energy Usage
   • Sales Mode
   • Design Mode
2. Click Edit to modify rate settings.
3. Adjust values as needed.
4. Click Save to confirm changes.
5. To revert to the original values, click Restore Original.

Note: Changing Rate Details resets any previous overrides to Rates and Export Settings.

Compensation Policy

Editing Compensation policy is only available in Design mode

• Net Billing: Uses the specified pre-solar and post-solar utility rates to calculate solar savings.
• Feed-In Tariff: Calculates the pre-solar bill and revenues from the FIT. All energy produced is exported and credited at a specified rate, while household energy consumption is purchased from the grid.

Export Rate

Controls how exported kWh are valued. Assumes all system-produced energy is first used by the home, with excess exported.

• Retail rate: Exported kWh are credited at the same rate as imported kWh.
• Retail rate with fixed reduction: Exported kWh are valued at the retail rate minus a specified reduction (e.g., California’s NEM 2.0).
• Retail rate with percentage reduction: Exported kWh are credited as a percentage of the retail rate (e.g., a 10% reduction means 90% of the retail value).
• Flat Export Rate: Exported kWh are credited at a fixed rate, while imported kWh follow the selected rate schedule.

Note: Flat export rates apply to all kWh during the month, whereas net surplus compensation is calculated at month-end. Use flat export rates when utilities credit on an hourly basis (e.g., Pacificorp and Provo Municipal).

Billing Frequency

Defines how often the full bill balance is paid. This is monthly in most regions, but California has an annual billing cycle where customers pay for the total year’s worth of bill once per year, allowing production credits from one month to offset bills from previous months

True-up Period

How often excess production credits expire. Most utilities are annual; if your utility doesn’t have a net metering program then this will likely be monthly (excess production is not carried forward). The specific month that credits are expired in will depend on your utility.

Rate Details (Genability Rate Criteria)

Pre-solar and post-solar rate details can be adjusted to better align with actual homeowner costs. Modifying Genability rate criteria helps ensure solar savings estimates reflect actual costs.

1. Open the View Rate Drawer and navigate to the Rate Details tab.
2. Modify the rate criteria provided by Genability.
3. Click Save to confirm the changes.
4. To revert to the original rate, click Restore Original