Selling solar in Missouri: net metering under the Easy Connection Act

Who has to offer net metering

Missouri's Net Metering and Easy Connection Act, RSMo 386.890, requires investor owned utilities, municipal utilities and electric cooperatives to offer net metering to customer generators with qualifying renewable systems of up to 100 kilowatts.

There is a ceiling. A supplier's obligation runs until net metered capacity reaches 5 percent of its peak load from the prior year. If a homeowner's utility is near that limit, find out before you promise anything.

How excess power is credited

When the system produces more than the home uses in a billing period, the excess is credited at no less than the utility's avoided fuel cost and applied to the next billing period. Avoided fuel cost is usually well below the retail rate, so an exported kilowatt hour is generally worth less than one the home buys.

That makes sizing important. A system sized well past the home's usage produces credits that may be worth little and may not get used.

Credits expire

Unused credits expire without payment after 12 months, or sooner if the customer disconnects. Explain this before the homeowner signs, because it is exactly the kind of detail that turns into a complaint later.

Actual credit rates vary by utility tariff, so use the tariff for the homeowner's utility rather than a number from another market.

Running a Missouri appointment

Ask which utility or cooperative serves the home, look at twelve months of usage, and size the system to that usage. Walk the homeowner through how a typical month would bill, including what happens to excess power and when credits expire.

Missouri homeowners 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.

• Confirm the utility and whether it is near the 5 percent limit
• Explain that excess power is credited at no less than avoided fuel cost
• Explain that unused credits expire after 12 months
• Use the homeowner's utility tariff for real numbers

Watch for changes

Bills to change Missouri net metering were filed in 2026 and stalled in committee. Recheck the statute on the Missouri Revisor of Statutes site and the utility's 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