Everything You Need to Know About Community Solar Billing

What can you expect after signing up for Altus Power’s Community Solar? Well, for starters, you’ll be helping to make positive environmental changes, since Community Solar helps reduce your community’s reliance on power derived from fossil fuels. You’ll also be getting a solar discount on your annual electricity costs of 5 to 20%, depending on your location.

You can expect to see discounts on your bill within two or three billing cycles after you sign up — or two or three billing cycles after your local solar project is powered on, if it’s still under construction. What the billing process looks like, however, depends on whether your account is on Standard Dual Billing or Consolidated Billing.

‍Standard Dual Billing

‍The vast majority of Community Solar subscribers are on a billing structure called Standard Dual Billing. These customers receive two bills each month — one from their existing electric utility company and one from Altus Power — but they’re still saving money over the course of the year.

If you’re on Standard Dual Billing, you’ll notice that your monthly utility bill balance is typically lower, thanks to the solar credits you’re earning from the Community Solar project you’re subscribed to. (You might see those credits labeled as a “transfer” or an “adjustment” — the wording varies by state and by utility company.)

Your Altus Power bill, meanwhile, will charge you for those credits at a discount. Therefore, even though you’re paying two bills, the total charges for the two bills combined is less annually than what you would have paid before subscribing to Community Solar.

For example, if your utility bill for a given month is $200 but you got $100 taken off your bill through solar credits, then you’ll pay your utility company the remaining $100. Altus will bill you for the solar credits minus the discount in your contract. Continuing this example, if your discount is set at 20%, then you’ll only have to pay Altus $80 for $100 worth of solar credits. That means your total electricity cost for that month would be $180 across both bills, compared to the $200 you would have had to pay without Community Solar.

‍Utility-Consolidated Billing

‍If your account is on Utility-Consolidated Billing, the process is pretty simple. You’ll get a bill from your existing electric utility provider which shows your usual charges, but you’ll also see your adjusted solar discount on that same bill. That means you will not get a separate bill from Altus Power. Instead, the utility has already handled the adjustment to reflect the discount on the solar credits listed in your Altus contract.

If you see the words "Community Solar Subscription Fee" on your bill, don't worry — it is not an actual "fee." It reflects the portion of the solar credit that goes back to your Community Solar provider, minus your guaranteed discount — and you get to keep what's left.

For example, if you receive $100 in solar credits and your discount is 10%, your utility company will apply the full $100 credit to your bill and then list a $90 "Subscription Fee" — this is the portion of the solar credit that goes to your Community Solar provider. After the adjustment, you save $10 on your electricity charges that month — automatically.

While most Community Solar projects today operate with the Standard Dual Billing model, more and more states and utilities are moving towards a Consolidated Billing model. So if you’re receiving two bills now, that doesn’t mean you will necessarily continue receiving two bills indefinitely.

As always, if you have any questions about billing — or anything else related to our Community Solar program — send us a message at hello@altuspower.com. And if you’d like to sign up for or learn more about Community Solar, head to join.altuspower.com.