Selling solar in Michigan: the Distributed Generation program, explained for closers

Distributed Generation, not net metering

New residential solar customers of DTE Electric and Consumers Energy are served under the Distributed Generation program set out in Michigan law, MCL 460.1173. Avoid calling it net metering when you talk about new systems. Older net metering arrangements cover existing participants only.

The program uses what is called inflow and outflow billing. Power the home draws from the grid is the inflow, billed at the retail rate. Power the system sends to the grid is the outflow, credited at a separate rate set by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

How the outflow credit works

Because outflow is credited at its own rate, a kilowatt hour the home exports is not worth the same as a kilowatt hour it buys. That is the single most important point to get right in a Michigan presentation. The most value usually comes from the solar power the home uses as it is produced.

DTE's rider for the program credits outflow at the power supply rate, and excess credits are kept in a bank that does not expire while the customer keeps service. Credit values change, so do not quote a cents per kilowatt hour figure from memory. Use the current tariff for the homeowner's utility.

What the 2023 law changed

Public Act 235 of 2023, effective February 27, 2024, raised the program's cap to 10 percent of a utility's average in state peak load over the prior five years. A higher cap means more room for new customers in the program.

The law also lets a system be sized up to 110 percent of the home's electricity use over the prior 12 months. Sizing to the home's real usage, not to the biggest system that fits the roof, keeps the numbers honest.

Running a Michigan appointment

Start with twelve months of bills and the homeowner's utility. Explain inflow and outflow in plain words, show expected production and how much of it the home is likely to use directly, and present the real cost of each payment option. Then let the homeowner decide.

Michigan homeowners who are sold in their home also have federal rights. Under the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule, a buyer generally has until midnight of the third business day to cancel a covered sale of 25 dollars or more made at their home. Know the cancellation paperwork your company uses and explain it.

• Ask which utility serves the home before you design anything
• Use the current outflow credit from the tariff, never a remembered number
• Size to 12 months of real usage
• Explain the cancellation right and the paperwork

Watch for changes

Michigan's rules have changed recently and bills to change them again have been introduced. A bill introduced in 2026 to create rooftop net metering was in committee and is not law. Check the Michigan Public Service Commission and the utility's current tariff before you present.

Where APHS fits

APHS sells residential solar and manages every install through its install partners, so closers can focus on the appointment. Appointments come to closers from our setting floor and partners, and closers learn the APHS script with the team.

We are adding closers in Michigan and Missouri. Strong in home closers who are new to solar are welcome. Compensation is covered on the call, and you can apply and pick a time in about two minutes.

Questions