National Grid Solar & Battery
Storage Guide

Yes. With solar, National Grid still sends a monthly bill, but it’s usually much smaller.

Extra power your panels send to the grid earns credits that carry forward month to month and cover power you use at night or in winter. What stays is National Grid’s basic service charge and the Customer Benefit Contribution (CBC), which is $0.97 per kW of solar per month in 2026, or about $8 a month for an 8 kW system. Kasselman Solar shows your expected remaining National Grid bill in your proposal.

It depends on your roof, shade, how much electricity you use and any electrical work your home needs.

Kasselman Solar prices each system from your address and a year of National Grid bills. New York homeowners can still claim the 25% state solar tax credit (up to $5,000) on a primary home, and NYSERDA takes $200 per kWh off a home battery upfront ($450 in disadvantaged communities).

The Customer Benefit Contribution (CBC) is a monthly charge on New York home solar systems connected since 2022.

It’s based on your system’s size: $0.97 per kW per month on National Grid in 2026, or about $8 a month for an 8 kW system. The rate is set each year, and National Grid’s CBC is one of the lowest of New York’s major utilities.

No. National Grid’s current rate plan, approved in 2025, added $14.32 a month to a typical bill starting September 2025, then $6.44 in year two and another $4.34 in year three (New York PSC example at 625 kWh). Those increases are already set.

Your solar quote is based on your current bills, so any future increase only adds to what solar saves.

Usually, yes, even if another company installed your panels. Kasselman Solar checks your inverter and electrical panel first, whether it’s our install or another company’s to determine what the best fit for you will be. Adding a battery changes your system, so it goes through National Grid review, which we handle.

National Grid’s ConnectedSolutions program pays $50 per kW for battery power delivered during summer peak events, May 1 through September 30, which National Grid says averages about $250 a year.

Events can run up to 60 times a summer, between 2 and 10 p.m., for up to 4 hours, and aren’t called before forecast severe weather. Eligible batteries include Tesla, Enphase, FranklinWH and more. You enroll through your battery manufacturer and can opt out anytime. These payments are separate from NYSERDA’s upfront battery incentive.

Not by itself. Grid-tied solar shuts off during a National Grid outage so it can’t send power onto lines crews are repairing.

With a home battery and backup controls, your system keeps running the circuits you choose, like the fridge, well pump, furnace and Wi-Fi, and your panels recharge the battery during the day. Kasselman Solar also installs home generators, alone or paired with a battery.