What Are True-Up Bills?

True-up bills are annual or monthly reconciliations of your electricity usage and solar production. If you have a solar system under a net energy metering (NEM) agreement, your utility company tracks how much energy your panels produce and how much energy your household consumes from the grid. Throughout the year, you earn credits for excess power sent to the grid and use those credits to offset any energy you pull from the grid when your panels aren’t producing enough. 

At the end of each billing cycle or year, your utility adds everything up and checks if you have enough credits to cover your total energy usage. If you’ve consumed more energy than your solar system produced and your credits fall short, you’ll receive a “true-up” bill. These bills can sometimes come as a surprise, especially if your energy consumption has increased, but your solar system wasn’t designed to handle the new demand. 

How Can Expanding Your Solar System Eliminate True-Up Bills?

If you’re getting hit with hefty true-up bills, it’s likely that your current solar system isn’t generating enough power to cover your household’s growing energy needs. Perhaps you’ve added new appliances, increased your air conditioning usage, or bought an electric vehicle (EV), all of which increase your electricity consumption. In this case, expanding your solar system by adding more panels can help you eliminate those surprise costs. 

By adding more solar panels, you can generate enough energy to not only meet your current needs but also offset any future increases in energy use. This means you’ll rely less on the grid, build up more credits, and potentially avoid true-up bills altogether. 

Understanding True-Up Bills and How Solar Expansion Helps 

To avoid or reduce true-up bills, you need your solar system to produce enough energy to match or exceed your household’s total electricity consumption. When your system falls short, the difference is billed at the end of the period. Expanding your system allows you to increase energy production to match your usage more accurately, which can bring true-up bills down to zero or close to it. 

 Here’s how expanding your solar system helps eliminate true-up bills: 

• Boost Energy Production: If your current system isn’t large enough to meet your full energy needs, adding more panels ensures that your solar production is sufficient to cover the additional demand, especially during peak usage periods. 

• Prepare for Increased Consumption: With rising energy needs due to new household appliances or an electric vehicle, your solar system may no longer be adequate. By expanding your system now, you can future-proof your energy production and avoid accumulating charges. 

• Maximize Self-Sufficiency: The more solar power your system produces, the less energy you’ll need to pull from the grid. If you expand your system and install a battery, you can store any excess solar power for nighttime or cloudy days, further reducing your reliance on the grid and minimizing true-up bills. 

Adding Panels to Get Rid of True-Up Bills

If you’ve been receiving higher-than-expected true-up bills, it’s a clear sign that your energy consumption has grown beyond your solar system’s production capacity. Here’s how expanding your solar setup can help: 

1. Increase Your Solar Capacity: The primary reason for true-up bills is that your solar system isn’t producing enough electricity to meet your demand. Adding more panels increases your system’s capacity, ensuring it generates enough power to match your usage.
   
   
2. Cover New Energy Needs: If you’ve recently added an electric vehicle (EV) or new appliances to your home, your energy consumption has likely spiked. By expanding your solar system, you can produce the extra energy needed for these additions, keeping your energy bill—and your true-up bill—low or even non-existent.
   
   
3. Maintain NEM Benefits: If you’re on an older NEM 1.0 or 2.0 agreement, you can still expand your system without losing your original NEM status by adding “non-exporting” panels. These panels increase your home’s energy production without sending excess power to the grid, preserving your ability to receive high credits under your existing NEM agreement.
   
   
4. Add a Battery System: A solar battery can be a game-changer when it comes to managing your energy production and consumption. By storing excess power during the day and using it during peak times or at night, you’ll reduce your reliance on the grid, further minimizing your chance of getting a true-up bill.  

The Benefits of Expanding Your Solar System

Here’s why expanding your solar system makes sense if you’re looking to eliminate true-up bills: 

• No More Surprises: With more solar panels generating additional energy, your system will better match your consumption, leading to fewer surprises when your true-up bill comes. You might even avoid a true-up bill entirely. 

• Greater Savings: The more energy your solar system produces, the less electricity you need from the grid. Expanding your system allows you to maximize savings on your utility bills, especially if you’re being hit with true-up charges.

• Long-Term Investment: Adding more panels is an investment in your energy future. As energy prices continue to rise, having a larger solar system will help you offset costs and reduce your reliance on the utility grid. 

• Offset Peak-Time Usage: Many true-up bills result from energy consumption during peak times when your solar panels may not be generating enough electricity. By expanding your system and possibly adding a battery, you can offset those peak-time charges with stored energy. 

Should You Expand Your Solar System? 

You should consider expanding your solar system if: 

• You’re regularly getting true-up bills: If you’ve noticed that your true-up bills are getting larger, your system may not be producing enough energy to cover your increased consumption. 

• You’ve increased your energy usage: Whether you’ve added new appliances, purchased an electric vehicle, or just use more electricity overall, an expanded system can ensure your solar production keeps up with demand. 

• You want to maximize savings: By expanding your solar system, you can reduce or eliminate your true-up bills and save even more on your utility costs over time. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a true-up bill?

A true-up bill is a yearly or monthly reconciliation of the energy your solar system produced versus the energy you consumed. If you used more electricity than your system generated and your credits didn’t cover the difference, you’ll be charged for the shortfall. 

Will adding more solar panels help eliminate my true-up bill?

Yes, expanding your system to produce more energy can help you generate enough power to cover your full consumption, reducing or eliminating your true-up bill. 

Do I need a battery to eliminate my true-up bill?

While not required, adding a battery can help. A battery stores excess energy during the day and allows you to use it at night or during peak demand times, further reducing your reliance on the grid and helping eliminate true-up charges. 

Can I add more panels without losing my NEM 1.0 or 2.0 status?

Yes! You can add non-exporting panels that produce energy for your home without sending excess to the grid. This allows you to expand your system while keeping your original NEM status. 

Conclusion: Take Control of Your True-Up Bills

If true-up bills are becoming a burden, expanding your solar system is a smart solution. Adding more panels ensures your system produces enough energy to meet your current and future needs, helping you avoid costly true-up charges. Whether you’ve added new appliances, an electric vehicle, or just want to increase your energy independence, expanding your solar system is the key to eliminating those end-of-year surprises and maximizing your savings.