Net metering and the daily demand charge
Should you switch to NV Energy time of use with solar?
With solar and no battery, NV Energy time of use usually costs a Las Vegas home more in summer. With a battery it can pay. The rates and a worked month.
If you have solar and no battery, switching to NV Energy's time of use plan usually costs you more in summer. Your panels make their surplus in the middle of the day, the expensive hours are 6:01 pm to 9 pm, and on time of use the midday surplus is not allowed to cover them. With a battery that carries the house through that window, the answer can flip.
The rest of this page is the reason, the rates, and one worked month each way.
The rates side by side
These are NV Energy's figures on the schedule effective October 1 2026. The consumption rate is what you pay per kilowatt hour you buy. The excess energy credit is what a Tier 4 net metering customer earns per surplus kilowatt hour.
| Standard (RS) | Time of use (ORS-TOU) | |
|---|---|---|
| Summer on peak, June 1 to Sept 30, 6:01 pm to 9 pm | $0.11379 | $0.46912 |
| Summer off peak, all other summer hours | $0.11379 | $0.07062 |
| Winter, October to May, all hours | $0.11379 | $0.08415 |
| Tier 4 excess credit, summer on peak | $0.08347 | $0.34997 |
| Tier 4 excess credit, summer off peak | $0.08347 | $0.05109 |
| Tier 4 excess credit, winter | $0.08347 | $0.06124 |
Both plans carry the same $18.00 basic service charge and the same DEAA adjustment of minus $0.00250 per kWh. On NV Energy's time of use plan the summer on peak rate of $0.46912 is about four times the standard rate, for three hours a day, four months a year. Everything else on time of use is cheaper than standard.
The rule that decides it: surplus stays in its own period
On the standard schedule, southern Nevada nets your usage and your exports across the whole month. NV Energy's NMR-405 page says the credit applies to exported energy that remains after monthly netting. So a kilowatt hour your panels export at noon cancels a kilowatt hour you use at 8 pm, at the full rate.
Time of use changes that. NRS 704.775 says that on a time of use schedule, excess electricity carried forward must be added to the same time of use period it was produced in, and NV Energy's net metering insert prints a separate credit for each period. Read together, midday surplus is settled in the off peak period and cannot pay for the evening. Net metering in Nevada sets out the netting in full.
In July your panels do most of their work before 6 pm. On NV Energy's time of use plan, the hours from 6:01 pm to 9 pm are when the air conditioning is still running hard and the array is fading, and those are billed at $0.46912.
A worked summer month, no battery
Our example, not a quote. A July month for a Tier 4 house:
- 300 kWh used on peak, 6:01 pm to 9 pm
- 1,500 kWh used off peak
- 1,600 kWh made by the panels, all of it off peak (a little arrives after 6 pm in reality, mostly on west facing panels)
We compare the energy charge plus the DEAA adjustment only. The basic service charge is the same on both plans, and the small per kWh riders and the local government fee are left out.
Standard RS. The month nets to 1,800 used minus 1,600 made, so 200 kWh bought. At $0.11379 less $0.00250, that is $0.11129 per kWh: 200 × $0.11129 = $22.26.
Time of use. Off peak: 1,600 made against 1,500 used leaves 100 kWh of surplus, credited at $0.05109, which is $5.11 of credit. On peak, on NV Energy's time of use plan: 300 kWh at $0.46912 less $0.00250, so $0.46662 per kWh: 300 × $0.46662 = $139.99. Net, $134.88.
On those numbers time of use costs about $112 more that month. The surplus is still there, but it earns about 5 cents instead of cancelling an evening kilowatt hour that costs about 47 cents on NV Energy's time of use plan.
The same month, with a battery
Now add a battery big enough to run the house from 6:01 pm to 9 pm, charged from the panels during the day. For simplicity we ignore the energy a battery loses in charging and discharging, which is real and makes the result a little worse.
Standard RS. Nothing changes. Monthly netting already let the midday surplus cover the evening. You still buy 200 kWh net: $22.26. This is why a battery on the standard plan does little for the energy charge.
Time of use. The panels now charge the battery with 300 kWh, so off peak use is 1,800 kWh against 1,600 made: 200 kWh bought at $0.07062 less $0.00250, which is $0.06812: 200 × $0.06812 = $13.62. On peak you buy nothing.
On those numbers time of use comes out about $8.64 better that month. The battery is what turns the plan from a penalty into a small gain. Why a battery pays between 6 and 9 pm and adding a battery to the solar you already have go further.
Winter works the other way
From October to May there is one time of use rate for every hour, and it is lower than standard: $0.08415 against $0.11379, on the schedule effective October 1 2026.
Take a January month where the house uses 900 kWh and the panels make 800. On standard, 100 kWh at $0.11129 is $11.13. On time of use, 100 kWh at $0.08415 less $0.00250, so $0.08165, is $8.17. Time of use is about $2.96 better.
If the panels make more than you use, it reverses. A 100 kWh winter surplus earns $8.35 of credit on standard at $0.08347, and $6.12 on time of use at $0.06124.
So the year comes down to a trade. Eight winter months, where a house that buys power saves a little on time of use. Four summer months, where a house without a battery can lose a lot. For most Las Vegas solar homes without storage, summer wins that argument.
Who time of use can work for
- You have a battery that reliably covers 6:01 pm to 9 pm from June to September.
- Your panels face west and export into the early part of the window. On NV Energy's time of use plan, a Tier 4 surplus in the summer on peak period earns $0.34997.
- You can shift the evening load: pre-cool the house before 6 pm, run the pool pump and the dryer in the day, charge the car overnight.
- You buy a lot of winter power, because the winter rate is lower than standard for every hour.
It is usually the wrong plan if you have no battery, the house is full and cooling hard every summer evening, and your array was sized to cover the whole year through monthly netting.
The first year is guaranteed
NV Energy's October 1 2026 rate insert includes a Time-of-Use Guarantee. At the end of your first year on time of use, NV Energy compares what you paid for your usage with what the standard residential schedule would have charged for the same usage. If time of use cost more, it credits the difference and asks whether you want to leave.
The time of use page adds the conditions. Enrollment is for at least 12 months. Leave before then, for a move or any other reason, and you lose the guarantee. After 12 months you can cancel at any time, effective within one to two billing cycles. Enrollment does not follow you to a new address.
The insert does not spell out how that comparison treats net metering credits. Ask NV Energy's net metering billing team to confirm in writing how your guarantee will be calculated before you enroll.
One thing that is not about time of use
A daily demand charge is scheduled for January 1 2027, under appeal. It is a separate part of the bill, priced on your highest 15 minutes of use in a day, and none of the arithmetic above includes it. The daily demand charge tracks where it stands.
How to decide on your own numbers
- Download twelve months of your interval data from NV Energy. How to download your NV Energy usage data walks through it.
- Add up what you used from 6:01 pm to 9 pm on summer days. That is the number time of use bills at $0.46912 on NV Energy's time of use plan.
- Check your bills for surplus: if you run a large surplus in summer, it earns less on time of use.
- Price the same year both ways, with and without a battery.
- If you switch, keep the guarantee in mind and do not leave in the first 12 months.
We will run that comparison with you from your own data and tell you which plan comes out ahead, including when the answer is to stay where you are.
Questions people ask us
Should I go on NV Energy time of use if I have solar?
Usually not without a battery. On NV Energy's time of use plan, summer evenings from 6:01 pm to 9 pm are billed at the on peak rate, and surplus from the middle of the day stays in its own time of use period instead of covering them. With a battery that runs the house through that window, the arithmetic can turn in your favour.
What are the NV Energy time of use hours?
On the schedule effective October 1 2026, summer on peak is June 1 to September 30, from 6:01 pm to 9 pm daily. Every other summer hour is off peak. October through May is a single winter period with one rate for all hours. The same periods apply to the net metering version of the plan.
What does my solar export earn on time of use?
On the schedule effective October 1 2026, a Tier 4 customer on the time of use plan gets an excess energy credit of $0.05109 per kWh for summer off peak, $0.06124 in winter and $0.34997 for summer on peak, on NV Energy's time of use plan. On the standard RS schedule the Tier 4 credit is $0.08347 all year.
Is there a guarantee if time of use costs me more?
Yes, for the first year. NV Energy's rate insert says that after your first year on time of use it compares what you paid with what the standard schedule would have charged for the same usage, and credits the difference if time of use cost more. NV Energy also says enrollment is for at least 12 months.
Can I switch back to the standard rate?
After 12 months, yes. NV Energy's time of use page says you can cancel at any time after 12 months and the change takes effect within one to two billing cycles. If you leave before 12 months, for a move or any other reason, you lose the first year guarantee.
Does time of use change my net metering tier?
Nothing we have read says it does. Your tier is set by the date of your net metering application. What changes is the rate the percentage is applied to: on the time of use plan each period has its own consumption rate, so each has its own excess energy credit, printed on NV Energy's net metering insert.
Where these numbers come from
- NV Energy, Nevada Power Company residential rate schedules effective October 1 2026: Schedule RS $0.11379 per kWh consumption, DEAA $(0.00250), $0.11514 total effective, $18.00 basic service charge; ORS-TOU winter $0.08415, summer on peak $0.46912, summer off peak $0.07062; the time of use periods and the Time-of-Use Guarantee checked 2026-09-28
- NV Energy, southern Nevada net metering rate schedules effective October 1 2026: Schedule RS NMR-405 Tier 4 excess energy credit $0.08347; ORS-TOU for net metering customers with NMR-405 Tier 4 credits of $0.06124 winter, $0.34997 summer on peak and $0.05109 summer off peak; the same periods and guarantee checked 2026-09-28
- NV Energy, Time-of-Use Rate page (content endpoint): first year risk free with the difference credited, minimum 12 months of participation, cancellation after 12 months within one to two billing cycles, loss of the guarantee on leaving early, and that enrollment does not transfer to a new address checked 2026-09-28
- NV Energy, NMR-405 page (content endpoint): credit for exported energy remaining after monthly netting, 75 percent of the retail volumetric rate made up of the consumption rate and DEAA checked 2026-09-28
- NRS 704.775 subsection 2, paragraph (c): on a time of use schedule, excess electricity carried forward must be added to the same time of use period in which it was produced checked 2026-09-28
Actual utility rates may go up or down and actual savings may vary. Every figure on this page is an estimate based on the sources listed below, not a promise about your home.
We recheck this page quarterly. Last checked 2026-09-28. If a number here has moved, tell us and we will fix it the same week.