How Long Does Solar Take to Pay Off With Your Utility? (2026)

Your state doesn't decide whether solar pays off. Your electric company does.

We calculated simple payback for a typical 12 kW home solar system for customers of 19 utility territories in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan and Mississippi. The answer ranges from 8.6 years (Duquesne Light, Pittsburgh) to 15.5 years (Potomac Edison, West Virginia), and it can swing by more than three years inside a single state.

These numbers assume no federal tax credit. The 30% residential solar credit (Section 25D) ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. They also leave out state and utility incentives, which would shorten payback where they apply.

Key findings

• Fastest: Duquesne Light (Pittsburgh), 8.6 years. It also has the least sunshine of all 19 locations. Its residential rate, 25.1¢/kWh, is the highest in the group.
• Slowest: Potomac Edison (West Virginia), 15.5 years. Cheap power (12.9¢/kWh) means each kWh of solar saves less.
• Same state, different answer. West Virginia runs from 12.3 years (Appalachian Power) to 15.5 years (Potomac Edison). Ohio runs from 10.2 years (AEP Ohio) to 12.6 years (Ohio Edison).
• Rates matter more than sun. Across these 19 utilities, the electricity rate explains about 56% of the difference in payback. Sunshine explains about 10%.
• Median payback across the 19: 10.7 years.

Solar payback by utility, fastest to slowest

Click any column heading to re-sort. On mobile, swipe the table sideways.

Residential customers = customers on the utility's standard (default) supply, July 2026. Rates are 12-month averages, August 2025 to July 2026. * West Virginia install cost uses the national average ($2.60/W) because no state figure is published. Download the full table (CSV).

How to read the last numeric column: if your all-in rate is above this number, solar pays back in under 10 years at today's prices. If it's below, expect longer. To find your rate, divide your bill total by the kWh you used.

What the data shows

Pittsburgh beats sunnier cities because of its electric rate

Pittsburgh produces the least solar power of any city in this study: about 1,191 kWh per installed kW each year, versus 1,436 in Gulfport, Mississippi. It still has the fastest payback, because Duquesne Light's average residential rate (25.1¢/kWh) is the highest of the 19. Every kWh your panels produce offsets a more expensive kWh from the grid.

This matches our 50-state solar break-even map, where electricity rates explained about 57% of the difference in payback between states and sunshine only about 4%.

Two neighbors in one state can have very different answers

• West Virginia: Appalachian Power customers break even in about 12.3 years. Potomac Edison customers take about 15.5 years, a gap of more than three years.
• Ohio: AEP Ohio customers (10.2 years) break even more than two years sooner than Ohio Edison customers (12.6 years).
• Pennsylvania: all four utility groups land between 8.6 and 10.1 years, making it the most consistent state in this study.

Appalachian Power customers: Virginia vs. West Virginia

The same company serves both states, but payback differs: about 11.7 years in Virginia and 12.3 years in West Virginia. West Virginia's rate is actually a little higher (17.1¢ vs. 16.5¢). But its higher assumed install cost and slightly less sun in Charleston outweigh that.

Want your actual number? These are averages. Your roof, usage and local quotes decide your real payback. Compare free quotes from vetted installers →

State-by-state quick answers

• Pennsylvania: 8.6 to 10.1 years. Duquesne Light is fastest. Solar in Pennsylvania →
• Ohio: 10.2 to 12.6 years. AEP Ohio is fastest. Solar in Ohio →
• Virginia: 10.3 years (Dominion) and 11.7 years (Appalachian Power). Solar in Virginia →
• Michigan: 10.4 years (DTE) and 10.7 years (Consumers Energy). Solar in Michigan →
• Mississippi: 9.8 years (Mississippi Power) and 10.7 years (Entergy Mississippi). Solar in Mississippi →
• West Virginia: 12.3 to 15.5 years, the widest spread in the study. Solar in West Virginia →

Why your own payback may be different

These are averages for a standard system. Your result depends on:

• Your actual rate. If you buy electricity from a retail supplier instead of your utility's standard service (common in Pennsylvania and Ohio), your price per kWh is different from the utility average shown here.
• How your utility credits extra solar power. Rules for exported power vary by state and utility. If exports are credited below the retail rate, payback gets longer. See net metering by state.
• Your roof. Shade, direction and tilt change output. We assumed an unshaded, south-facing roof.
• Price quotes. Install prices vary between companies. A quote below your state's average shortens payback.
• Incentives. State or utility rebates, where available, would shorten payback. None are included here. See 2026 solar incentives.
• Financing. These figures assume a cash purchase. A loan adds interest cost. With a lease or PPA you don't own the system, so payback works differently. See solar financing options.

Methodology

• Electricity rates. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form 861M: utility-level residential revenue divided by residential sales, summed over August 2025 to July 2026 (the latest data, released September 24, 2026). EIA marks the 2026 months as preliminary. Rates cover customers on the utility's standard (bundled) service.
• Solar production. NLR (National Laboratory of the Rockies, formerly NREL) PVWatts v8: 1 kW system, fixed roof mount, 20° tilt, due south, 14% system losses, modeled at the main city in each utility's territory (listed below).
• Install cost. EnergySage average cost per watt by state, the same inputs as our state map. West Virginia uses the national average ($2.60/W).
• System size. 12 kW.
• Payback. System cost ÷ (annual production × rate). Assumes every kWh produced offsets a kWh at the average residential rate. No federal credit, no state or utility incentives, no financing costs, no rate increases and no panel degradation.
• Break-even rate. The electricity rate at which the same system pays back in exactly 10 years.
• Rate vs. sunshine (56% / 10%). The share of variation in payback across these 19 utilities explained by rate and by solar output (R² of each against payback). With 19 data points and state-level install costs, treat this as directional.

Modeling cities: Duquesne Light (Pittsburgh), PECO (Philadelphia), FirstEnergy Pennsylvania (Reading), PPL Electric (Allentown), AEP Ohio (Columbus), Ohio Edison (Akron), Cleveland Electric Illuminating (Cleveland), Toledo Edison (Toledo), Duke Energy Ohio (Cincinnati), AES Ohio (Dayton), Dominion Energy Virginia (Virginia Beach), Appalachian Power VA (Roanoke), Appalachian Power WV (Charleston), Mon Power (Morgantown), Potomac Edison (Martinsburg), DTE Electric (Detroit), Consumers Energy (Grand Rapids), Entergy Mississippi (Jackson), Mississippi Power (Gulfport).

Limitations, stated plainly

• One city per utility stands in for the whole territory.
• Install cost is a state average, not utility-specific.
• FirstEnergy Pennsylvania (the former Penelec, Met-Ed, West Penn Power and Penn Power) reports to EIA as one company, so it has one row.
• This page uses a newer 12-month rate window than our 50-state map, so state and utility figures won't match exactly.

Free to cite, reproduce or reuse with a link to this page. Download the data (CSV).

Frequently asked questions

Related

Solar Break-Even Map (all 50 states) · Is Solar Worth It in 2026? · What happened to the solar tax credit · Net metering by state · Quote comparison tool