For Xcel Energy Colorado customers
Solar for Xcel Energy customers in Colorado, with a rate we actually checked.
Xcel Energy is one of two investor-owned utilities covered by Colorado's net metering mandate. We built this page by reading Xcel's own published rate schedule and the Colorado PUC's own August 2026 rate order, not by copying a number from an aggregator. Where we couldn't verify something on a primary source this week, we say so instead of guessing.
- Net metering applies to Xcel. Colorado's mandate (C.R.S. 40-2-124) covers investor-owned utilities. Xcel and Black Hills Energy qualify; co-ops and municipal utilities don't.
- Rate estimate, sourced and labeled as an estimate. Approximately 14.72¢/kWh, built from Xcel's own 2024 tariff, the PUC's 2026 rate order and Xcel's own monthly service charge. Not a single verified current sheet, and we say that plainly.
- Honest $2.50 per watt pricing. The same published rate we quote everywhere.
Licensed in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois and Colorado
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The rate, verified this week
What Xcel Energy actually charges, and how we got that number.
Most solar sites quote a single flat rate for Xcel without saying where it came from. Here is exactly how Solar Assure built ours, and where the gap in our own verification is.
What we could not verify: Xcel's own current-rate pages (co.my.xcelenergy.com) are JavaScript-rendered and returned no readable content when we checked this week, so we could not read one single current tariff sheet the way we did for our Missouri and Kansas utilities. The 14.72¢/kWh figure above is Solar Assure's own estimate, built by layering a verified 2024 base rate, a verified 2026 percentage increase, and Xcel's own published monthly service charge. It is not a copy of a single current Xcel document. See our disclosures page for the full rate-source table across every utility we serve.
The statute that matters most
Colorado net metering: who's actually covered.
This is the single fact that changes the math more than any other for a Colorado homeowner, and it's the fact most sites skip.
Colorado's net metering mandate (C.R.S. 40-2-124(1)(e)(I)(B), implemented through Public Utilities Commission Rule 4 CCR 723-3-3664) requires investor-owned utilities to offer net metering to residential solar customers. Xcel Energy is one of exactly two utilities the mandate covers; Black Hills Energy is the other.
The mandate does not cover cooperative electric associations or municipally-owned utilities. If your home is served by a rural electric cooperative, or by a municipal utility such as Fort Collins Utilities or Colorado Springs Utilities, this state law does not apply to you, and that utility sets its own rules instead. Solar Assure checks which utility serves your specific address before we quote, because this distinction changes the payback math.
Xcel also runs a separate program called Solar*Rewards, distinct from net metering, in which enrolled customers transfer their system's Renewable Energy Credits to Xcel for a per-kWh payment on top of net metering credits. We could not confirm the current REC rate directly on Xcel's own site this week, so we do not quote a specific number here; ask us and we will help you confirm the current rate directly with Xcel at enrollment.
On the tax side: Colorado has no state income tax credit for solar panels themselves. The one state credit that touches residential solar, the Residential Energy Storage Systems Credit (C.R.S. 39-22-546), applies only to a qualifying home battery's purchase price, not the panels or installation labor. Solar generation equipment is exempt from Colorado sales and use tax (C.R.S. 39-26-724), and batteries carry their own separate sales/use tax exemption (C.R.S. 39-26-733).
Common questions
Xcel Energy Colorado solar, answered honestly.
What is Xcel Energy Colorado's residential electric rate?
Solar Assure estimates approximately 14.72 cents per kWh blended, built from three verified pieces: Xcel's own published Schedule R base rate and riders (summer 10.380 cents, winter 8.570 cents, plus Xcel's own per-kWh adjustment riders, rates in effect May 1, 2024), scaled up by the 4.77 percent increase the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved for Xcel effective August 29, 2026, plus Xcel's own $7.10 per month Service and Facility Charge. Xcel's own current-rate pages did not return readable content when we checked this week, so this is our own estimate layering verified sources, not a single current tariff sheet.
Is Xcel Energy covered by Colorado's net metering law?
Yes. Colorado's net metering mandate, C.R.S. 40-2-124(1)(e)(I)(B), implemented through Public Utilities Commission Rule 4 CCR 723-3-3664, requires investor-owned utilities to offer net metering to residential solar customers. Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy are the two investor-owned utilities the mandate covers. Cooperative electric associations and municipally-owned utilities such as Fort Collins Utilities or Colorado Springs Utilities are not covered by this state mandate.
What is Xcel's Solar*Rewards program?
Solar*Rewards is Xcel Energy Colorado's separate incentive program, distinct from net metering, in which enrolled customers transfer the Renewable Energy Credits their system generates to Xcel in exchange for a per-kWh payment on top of net metering credits. We could not confirm the current REC rate directly on Xcel's own site this week, so we do not quote a specific rate here. Confirm current Solar*Rewards rates directly with Xcel at enrollment.
Does Colorado have a state tax credit for solar panels?
No, not for the panels themselves. Colorado has no state income tax credit for residential solar PV. The one state credit that touches residential solar is the Residential Energy Storage Systems Credit (C.R.S. 39-22-546), and it applies only to a qualifying battery's purchase price, not the solar panels, inverters, or installation labor. Colorado does exempt solar generation equipment from state sales and use tax (C.R.S. 39-26-724), and batteries have their own separate sales/use tax exemption (C.R.S. 39-26-733).
Is the federal solar tax credit still available in 2026?
No. The 30 percent federal residential solar tax credit under Internal Revenue Code Section 25D expired December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21). Any company advertising a 30 percent federal credit for a new 2026 residential solar purchase in Colorado is either describing a third-party-owned lease or PPA arrangement (a different, commercial-side credit) or is out of date.
Josh founded Solar Assure in Lake Saint Louis to bring residential solar to families without the high-pressure tactics of national sales organizations. Solar Assure is licensed in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois and Colorado. For Xcel Energy customers specifically, Josh personally confirms your utility and whether Colorado's net metering mandate applies before any numbers are quoted.
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