Avista solar net metering

Idaho gives a solar buyer two different deals at once, and the name on the electric bill decides which one applies. Panels run $2.95-$2.96 a watt, a typical 7.44 kW system costs about $22,022 before incentives, and the state gets strong, cold sun — about 1,506 kilowatt-hours a year from every installed kilowatt. What the panels earn depends entirely on the utility: Idaho Power, which serves about 63% of Idaho homes, credits most exported power at about 3 cents a kilowatt-hour under real-time net billing, while Avista, in the northern panhandle, still banks exported power kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour at full retail. There is no state rebate, and the 30% federal credit is $0 for a homeowner-owned system installed in 2026 — Idaho’s only state help is an income-tax deduction worth roughly $1,000 over four years. Payback lands near 28-31 years on Idaho Power, near 19 years on Avista, and near 26 years statewide — longer than the panels’ own 25-year warranty on the two biggest utilities. Every size gets priced here, the cities get compared, the export rules get explained hour by hour, and the guide finishes by naming the households that still come out ahead in Idaho — and the ones that should keep their money.