How to Read Your Post-Solar Utility Bill

Step 1

Our goal is to compare the kWh that FirstEnergy says you exported to the grid with the same figures reported in your Enphase monitoring app.

For starters, you’ll want to ensure you’re using a utility statement that reflects your “actual” usage as opposed to your “estimated” usage. This refers to whether the utility actually read your meter during this period or if they’re estimating usage based on your previous patterns.

Once you’ve confirmed your FirstEnergy statement shows “actual” usage, you’ll want to locate the section titled “Usage Information for Meter Number (your meter number)” on the bottom right side of the first page. It should look like this:

Please Note: For your first 2-3 post-solar billing cycles, FirstEnergy usually goes off of estimated usage – they will go back and correctly adjust your credits in future months, but if this is your first utility statement since going solar, you’ll want to give it a few more months before comparing your production numbers.

Step 2

You’ll then want to open your Enphase monitoring and align the date range with the FirstEnergy statement you’re comparing it to. On your FirstEnergy statement, it’s defined as the Service Period date. You can select that date range under the custom energy section in Enphase.

In this example, we’re using the date range June 28, 2024 – Jul 26, 2024

In Enphase, it will look like this:

So let’s break this down -

How much energy was sent to the grid?

On your FirstEnergy statement this is shown as “Kilowatt Hours Out” so in this example that figure is 324 kWh. In Enphase, it’s depicted as 346.9 kWh exported to the grid. Again, this will never be a perfect match, but these figures are roughly aligned.

FirstEnergy Kilowatt Hours Out 324 kWh = Enphase 346.9 kWh Exported

How much energy was drawn from the grid?

On the FirstEnergy Statement this is shown as “Kilowatt Hours Metered.” The corresponding data in Enphase is called “ Imported.”

FirstEnergy Kilowatt Hours Metered 1,302 kWh = in Enphase this data is shown as 1.2 MWh Imported. They show this in megawatt hours, which is equivalent to 1,200 kWh.

What was the total net usage?

FirstEnergy indicates the net usage as KILOWATT HOURS BILLED. In this example, the total kilowatt hours billed (ie. drawn from the grid) was 978 kWh. Enphase shows this figure as 894 kWh net imported (ie. imported from the grid).

FirstEnergy KILOWATT HOURS BILLED 978 kWh = Enphase 894 kWh Net Imported

FirstEnergy statements will also include a tally of accrued credits. These are the two bottom lines of the Usage Information section. It will list the carried over credits, as well as the credits accrued in a given billing cycle.

So there you have it –

Yes, this is a lot of information, but hopefully it helps you interpret the data you see from your utility and compare it with the data available through your solar monitoring.

Reach us directly if you have any further questions: service@solarholler.com or 304-362-8390

How to Read Your Post-Solar Utility Bill - FirstEnergy