Orange & Rockland Net Metering for Solar Customers
Orange & Rockland serves Rockland and parts of Orange and Sullivan. Here is how solar exports are credited and what the 2026 CBC costs a typical system.
Orange & Rockland Utilities serves Rockland County and parts of Orange and Sullivan. It is a small territory in state terms, sitting between Con Edison to the south and Central Hudson to the north, and its solar rules are its own.
The credit mechanism
Your array supplies the house first; only the surplus is exported. Under Phase One net metering each exported kilowatt-hour earns a credit at the full retail rate, and a system interconnected today keeps that arrangement for 20 years.
Surplus does not come back as a monthly payment. It accrues as a credit balance on the account through the strong months and is spent down through the winter, which is why the design has to be sized against a full year of consumption rather than a peak-season bill.
The Customer Benefit Contribution
Residential customers interconnecting on or after 1 January 2022 pay a monthly Customer Benefit Contribution on the DC size of the system. Orange & Rockland’s final 2026 residential rate for net-metered PV is $1.00 per kW-month — near the bottom of the state range, and a clean number to work with.
- A 6 kW system: $6.00 a month, $72 a year.
- An 8 kW system: $8.00 a month, $96 a year.
- A 12 kW system: $12.00 a month, $144 a year.
Orange & Rockland is one of the New York utilities, alongside RG&E and NYSEG, whose small commercial CBC rate is lower than its residential one: $0.88 against $1.00 here. On the Value Stack route, the 2026 residential rate is $0.50 per kW-month.
As everywhere: the charge is billed on capacity regardless of output, it is recalculated annually rather than fixed at interconnection, and it does not apply to pre-2022 systems, community solar, or commercial accounts with a demand charge.
Interconnection
- The installer files an interconnection application with Orange & Rockland.
- The utility reviews capacity on your circuit and issues approval to install.
- Installation, then municipal electrical inspection.
- The certificate goes to the utility; the meter is exchanged or reprogrammed.
- Permission to operate is granted, and only then may the system run.
Rockland’s towns — Clarkstown, Ramapo, Orangetown, Haverstraw, Stony Point — each issue their own permits, and turnaround differs between them. The utility step is uniform; the municipal step is not.
Property tax in Rockland
RPTL 487 exempts the added value of a solar system from property tax for 15 years unless the municipality has opted out. The RPTL 487 exemption is not automatic: file form RP-487 with your assessor by the taxable status date (March 1 in most towns; January 2 in Nassau towns; May 1 or June 1 in Westchester towns; set by charter in cities; usually January 1 in villages), and the system must be built before January 1, 2030 (RP-487 instructions). Rockland’s towns, villages, county and school districts each make that decision for their own levy, and the villages matter here — Rockland has a lot of them. Check all four levels for your specific address before treating the exemption as a given.
What stays on the bill
The basic service charge and the fixed portion of delivery persist for as long as you are connected. Solar cuts the volumetric charges. A small monthly bill plus the CBC line is the realistic outcome.
2026 incentives
The 30% federal residential credit is gone: section 25D was terminated for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, with the expenditure treated as made when the original installation is completed, not when the system is placed in service. New York’s 25% credit capped at $5,000 on Form IT-255 continues, together with the state sales tax exemption on residential solar equipment. As of September 2026 NYSERDA has no open NY-Sun block for homes in any utility territory; check NYSERDA’s NY-Sun dashboard for a new one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Orange & Rockland CBC rate for 2026?
$1.00 per kW-month of DC system size for residential net-metered PV. A 6 kW system pays $6 a month, an 8 kW system $8 a month, and a 12 kW system $12 a month.
Which towns does Orange & Rockland serve?
Rockland County together with parts of Orange and Sullivan counties. Con Edison sits to the south and Central Hudson to the north, so confirm the utility name printed on your bill.
Does Orange & Rockland pay for surplus solar each month?
No. Exports accrue as a credit balance on the account and are drawn down through the winter, which is why systems are sized against annual rather than seasonal consumption.
Is the RPTL 487 property tax exemption automatic in Rockland County?
No. Municipalities may opt out, and in Rockland the town, village, county and school district each decide for their own levy. Check all four for your address before relying on the exemption.
This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive amounts, eligibility rules and deadlines change and depend on your utility, your tax situation and your property. Confirm current terms with NYSERDA, your utility and a qualified tax professional before making a decision.
NY Solar Incentives
Independent New York solar research. We summarise NYSERDA, NY-Sun and federal programme rules from published sources and state plainly when a figure is an estimate. We are not a government agency and do not sell equipment.
Run the arithmetic on your own system
Check the dated program table and your arrangement before counting an incentive. Standard residential NY-Sun blocks are closed; Long Island Affordable Solar has a conditional income-verification route. The NY credit depends on qualified costs and tax liability, while the NYC abatement reduces future property-tax bills. The estimator keeps those timings separate.