The most common shock in solar ownership is not the installation process or the panel performance. It is the annual PG&E true up bill. Homeowners who have been receiving tiny monthly statements all year, sometimes as low as the minimum service charge of a few dollars, open their annual true up and find a balance of several hundred or even several thousand dollars. The number looks wrong. It does not feel like solar was supposed to work this way.
It is not a mistake. It is exactly how the billing system is designed to work. Understanding what the PG&E true up bill is, how the math behind it accumulates over twelve months, and what causes it to be larger than expected puts you in control of the number rather than letting the number surprise you.
This guide walks through everything a PG&E solar customer in Fresno and the Central Valley needs to know to read, understand, and manage their annual true up statement.
What the PG&E True Up Bill Actually Is
When you go solar with PG&E, you are enrolled in a billing program, either Net Energy Metering (NEM) for systems installed before April 15, 2023, or the Solar Billing Plan (also called NEM 3.0) for systems installed after that date. Under either program, PG&E does not charge you monthly for the energy you draw from the grid the way a non-solar customer would be charged.
Instead, your account tracks a running tally. Every kilowatt-hour (kWh) your panels send back to the grid earns a credit. Every kWh you pull from the grid adds a charge. Each month, PG&E sends you a statement showing where your running balance stands, but the energy charges are not collected yet. They accumulate over a full twelve months.
At the end of that twelve-month period, PG&E reconciles everything. According to PG&E’s solar billing page: any remaining charges must be paid, and any surplus credits are typically reset to zero. This annual reconciliation is the true up bill.
If your solar production more than covered your annual usage, your true up will be near zero or show a small Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) payment from PG&E to you, though this is paid at a much lower wholesale rate than the retail rate you pay for electricity. If your grid usage outpaced your solar credits for the year, you owe the difference.
How to Read the True Up Statement Line by Line
The true up statement is not a regular bill, and it is laid out differently from what most PG&E customers are used to seeing. Here is what to look for.
Energy Charges and Credits column
This is the core of the document. It lists each month of your twelve-month billing cycle and shows the net energy charge or credit for that month. Summer months, when your panels are producing the most, will typically show credits (negative numbers). Winter months, when production drops and usage often rises, will show charges (positive numbers). The running cumulative total at the bottom of this column is what you owe or are owed before adjustments.
Non-bypassable charges
This line appears on every true up and surprises many homeowners. Certain PG&E charges cannot be offset by solar credits, even if you produced more than you consumed. These non-bypassable charges (NBCs) cover public purpose programs, nuclear decommissioning, and similar regulatory costs. They are assessed on every kWh you pull from the grid and are always owed regardless of your credit balance. For most households this adds $50 to $150 to the annual true up.
Base Services Charge (formerly Minimum Electric Charge)
Starting March 2026, PG&E replaced the monthly Minimum Electric Charge with a Base Services Charge of approximately $24 per month for standard residential customers, according to PG&E. This fixed charge covers grid connection, infrastructure, and billing costs. It is owed every month regardless of solar production and does not appear as a credit-eligible charge. Over twelve months, this adds roughly $288 to your annual baseline cost.
Total amount due
This is the number at the bottom of the statement: what you owe PG&E after all credits are applied, after non-bypassable charges are added, and after the monthly service charges paid throughout the year are accounted for. This is the number that surprises most solar homeowners when it is significantly higher than zero.
The Most Common Reasons a True Up Bill Comes in Higher Than Expected
A high true up is not necessarily a sign that your system is broken or was installed incorrectly. But it is a signal worth investigating. These are the four most frequent causes.
Your household energy use increased after installation
Solar systems are sized based on your historical usage, typically the twelve months of PG&E bills before installation. If you added an electric vehicle, a pool pump, additional occupants, a new HVAC system, or simply used more air conditioning during a hotter-than-average Central Valley summer, your actual usage exceeded the projections the system was designed around. Production stayed the same; consumption went up; the gap shows up in the true up.
PG&E raised rates during your billing year
Every kWh you pull from the grid during your billing year is charged at the rate in effect at that time. PG&E has raised residential electricity rates repeatedly in recent years, and those increases apply to grid energy drawn by solar customers as much as anyone else. If rates went up mid-year, the cost of your grid usage rose even if your usage patterns stayed identical.
Your system underproduced
Shading that worsened over time, soiling from Central Valley dust, a failing microinverter, or a system monitoring dropout can all reduce annual production below the projected figure. If your true up is significantly higher than in prior years and your usage has not changed, check your monitoring app for production data. A drop in kilowatt-hours generated points directly to a system issue worth investigating. Pacific Solar’s solar cleaning service and diagnostic inspections address both issues.
Time-of-use rate mismatch under NEM 3.0
For customers enrolled in the Solar Billing Plan (NEM 3.0, systems installed after April 15, 2023), export compensation varies by hour and is significantly lower during midday when panels produce the most. At the same time, the rate for grid energy is highest in the evening hours (typically 4 to 9 p.m.) when panels are not producing. If your household draws heavily from the grid in the evenings without a battery to cover those peak hours, the cost of that evening grid usage can outpace the credits earned from daytime exports, building a larger-than-expected true up balance over the course of the year.
How to Lower Your PG&E True Up Bill Before It Arrives
The true up is determined over twelve months, which means there is a full year of opportunity to influence the outcome. These are the most effective adjustments.
- Shift high-use appliances to midday hours. Running the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, or EV charger during peak solar production hours (roughly 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) means your panels are covering that load directly, reducing net grid usage.
- Monitor your monthly statements. PG&E’s monthly NEM statement shows your running year-to-date balance. If you are tracking toward a large true up in February, you have time to adjust usage behavior before the billing cycle closes.
- Keep your panels clean and producing at full output. Soiling reduces production year-round. In the Central Valley, a professional cleaning one to two times per year is especially valuable given the agricultural dust and dry conditions.
- Add battery storage to cover evening peak hours. Under NEM 3.0, a battery that charges during midday and discharges during the 4 to 9 p.m. peak window dramatically reduces the high-cost grid energy that drives true up balances. This is the single most effective structural solution for NEM 3.0 customers with large true ups.
- Right-size or expand your system if usage has grown. If an EV, pool, or additional living space has pushed your usage well above your original system’s design capacity, adding panels may be more cost-effective long-term than absorbing annual true up charges.
Frequently Asked Questions About the PG&E True Up Bill
When does the PG&E true up bill arrive?
Your true up arrives on the anniversary of your solar interconnection date, meaning it comes twelve months after your system was officially turned on and enrolled in NEM or the Solar Billing Plan. The specific month varies by customer and is noted on your monthly NEM statements throughout the year.
What happens if I cannot pay my PG&E true up bill all at once?
PG&E offers a Payment Arrangement option for customers who need more time to pay their true up balance. You can contact PG&E directly at 1-877-743-4112 (the solar billing department line) or visit PG&E’s NEM billing page to set up an arrangement. This does not affect your solar interconnection status.
If I have solar, why is my power out during an outage?
Solar panels on a standard grid-tied system shut down automatically during a grid outage, even if the sun is shining. This is a mandatory safety feature to protect utility workers on the lines. It has no connection to your true up bill or billing status. If you want power during an outage, a battery backup system paired with your solar installation is what provides that protection.
Will my true up bill be different under NEM 3.0 than under NEM 2.0?
Yes, and the difference is significant for many customers. Under NEM 2.0, credits were earned at close to the full retail rate for every kWh exported, making it easier to fully offset annual grid charges. Under the Solar Billing Plan (NEM 3.0), export rates average about 25% of retail rates, which means the same amount of solar production earns far fewer credits toward your true up. NEM 3.0 customers typically see higher true up balances unless they pair their system with battery storage to shift consumption away from grid peak hours.
What is Net Surplus Compensation and will I receive it?
If your solar system generates more energy over the full year than your home consumed, you are classified as a Net Surplus Generator. PG&E will send you a payment for the surplus at the Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate, which is a wholesale rate significantly below retail, typically around $0.04 per kWh. Most installers deliberately size systems to produce approximately 100% of household usage rather than oversizing for exports at this low rate.
Your True Up Bill Is a Report Card You Can Improve Every Year
The PG&E true up bill is not something that happens to you. It is the result of twelve months of decisions: when you use energy, how well your system produces, and whether your usage has grown beyond what your panels can cover. Homeowners who monitor their monthly NEM statements, keep their panels clean, and understand their rate plan consistently see lower true up balances than those who install and forget.
If your true up came in higher than expected, or if you are a new solar customer trying to set yourself up for the lowest possible annual balance, Pacific Solar can help. From system performance diagnostics to battery storage additions that directly reduce NEM 3.0 true up charges, the team at Pacific Solar has served Fresno and the Central Valley for over 40 years. Contact Pacific Solar today to review your system and your options.