Connecticut Solar Incentives 2026: RRES, Netting & Storage

At a glance

RRES replaced the old residential solar programmes

PURA says Residential Renewable Energy Solutions launched in January 2022 and replaced legacy net metering and the Residential Solar Investment Program (RSIP). The administrators are Eversource and United Illuminating (UI). An older RSIP rebate article is therefore not an application guide for a new 2026 project.

The joint Eversource/UI RRES Program Manual, version 2026.1, supplies the 2026 rates and fees below. These are not legacy net-metering terms, and the buy-all rate is not the netting export rate.

2026 RRES rates: buy-all versus netting

For eligible Eversource and United Illuminating projects with complete applications in the January 1–December 31, 2026 enrolment year, the manual lists the following terms (pp.11–15). Both utilities use these base rates; the value of a netting credit depends on the utility’s currently applicable retail tariff.

Netting bill credits carry forward monthly and are cashed out only when the customer closes the utility account; UI requires a cash-out request. Buy-all permits an annual cash-out of accumulated bill credits after the first anniversary of operating approval. Quarterly buy-all direct payments must go to a beneficiary other than the customer of record; netting REC/adder beneficiaries may include the customer. Confirm the named recipient in a lease or power-purchase agreement (manual pp.11–14, 27).

Choose before submitting: the manual says the buy-all/netting selection cannot be changed once selected, even before operating approval. Under either option, the utility receives the project’s RECs and specified environmental attributes; do not budget a second sale of the same RECs.

Income and community adders—not automatic awards

The 2026 manual lists these additional production-based incentives for qualifying Eversource/UI projects. Income eligibility is at or below 60% of Connecticut state median income; community eligibility uses the applicable Connecticut DECD distressed-municipality list. The utility must verify the claim and required payment documentation.

Only one adder applies, not both. A $0 base REC rate does not prevent an eligible netting customer from receiving an adder. The production charge remains a separate bill item; an adder is not a blanket exemption from it (manual pp.12–15, 20–24).

Application and meter fees by utility

These are the amounts published in version 2026.1, not a complete installation quote. Application fees are non-refundable and additional interconnection fees may apply. Meter fees can change and unusual services can require another meter; confirm the current amount with the utility before proceeding (pp.31–32).

Production-meter fees are refundable if the project does not proceed. Payment-beneficiary changes are permitted once per 12-month period. Do not mistake these administrative fees for all electrical, interconnection or installer costs.

Eversource’s published eligibility checklist

Eversource lists current or future customers living in a one-to-four-family property, a system no larger than 25 kW AC and sizing tied to historical household load. The joint manual limits expected annual production to no more than 5% above the highest 12-month consumption within the past five years, plus approved EV/whole-home heat-pump allowances (p.24). A Home Energy Solutions assessment is required unless the home was built in 1980 or later. The utility lists specified sizing allowances for electric vehicles and heat pumps; have the installer document any allowance used rather than oversizing on a generic estimate.

The joint manual also covers UI: use new equipment at an eligible property, document any assessment exemption, and check the separate rules for qualified multifamily affordable housing or expansions (pp.19–25). For 2026 applications, a required assessment must have been performed within the last 15 years, or be scheduled; the manual provides exceptions for assessment scheduling/budget constraints. Homes built on or after January 1, 1980 need proof of the build date to waive the requirement (p.20). Eversource says additional generation at a home that already has solar is separately metered. Municipal-utility customers should ask their own utility rather than assume Eversource/UI eligibility.

How to apply

1. Identify your electric distribution utility on the bill.
2. Get multiple licensed-installer quotes showing the same household load and 2026 programme assumptions.
3. Complete applicable energy-assessment and system-design checks.
4. Have the installer submit complete RRES and interconnection applications, required documents and fees through the utility. The complete application date—not the sales-contract date—sets the enrolment-year rate. Obtain utility application approval before construction; this is the order in the manual (p.26).
5. Keep the executed contract, customer disclosure, approved design and operating-approval documents. Do not energize before utility approval: pre-approval generation is not compensated (pp.26–27). A project that already completed interconnection without applying for RRES cannot enrol afterwards (p.2).

Application window and current status

The manual’s 2026 rate window is January 1 through December 31, 2026 for complete applications. An unfinished application or signed sales quote does not lock that rate. On September 16, 2026, PURA and Eversource continued to publish the programme and application route without a closure or waitlist notice. RRES is a tariff, not an upfront rebate budget; no live remaining-capacity or funding balance was verified. Confirm enrolment with your utility. UI’s standalone webpage could not be retrieved in this check; its rates above are documented in the joint manual hosted by Eversource, not a verified UI portal-status check.

Solar sales-tax exemption: give CERT-140 to the seller

Current DRS guidance checked September 25, 2026. Connecticut exempts qualifying solar electricity-generating systems, related equipment and specified installation services from sales and use taxes. This is tax you do not pay on eligible purchases—not a cash rebate, income-tax credit or fixed-dollar award. The Department of Revenue Services (DRS) still lists CERT-140 (PDF) as the claim certificate; the form is marked “New 07/07,” not a newly issued 2026 form.

1. Before purchase/invoicing, agree the eligible items with the seller or installer. A property owner, tenant or contractor can sign and give CERT-140 to the seller. It is not the RRES application and is not a request for DRS to send a rebate. Do not assume unrelated home improvements or a standalone portable battery qualify.
2. Complete the actual purchase details. Identify purchaser and seller, describe the system/equipment/services and select the relevant boxes. The installation-service address is required when claiming services; supply the intended system location if available. The one-purchase option covers eligible goods or services. A blanket certificate is for a continuing line of eligible tangible-property purchases and lasts three years unless revoked earlier.
3. Keep the evidence. The purchaser must retain the certificate and supporting records for at least six years from issue. The seller retains its certificate and invoices for at least six years from purchase, and marks records “Exempt under CERT-140.” A seller must accept the certificate in good faith; signing it does not make an ineligible item exempt.

Status: the DRS exemption and certificate route are published as available, with no annual application window, household income test or rebate-fund balance stated in these sources. There is no separate pre-installation award letter in CERT-140; arrange the exemption for the purchase. This does not remove the utility’s pre-construction and operating approvals.

Solar property-tax exemption: check the 2026 law and your PTO date

Two different routes matter. Public Act 26-134, approved June 4, 2026 (PDF), amended Connecticut General Statutes §12-81(57). Use the enacted act, not an older summary that presents only the residential load test.

The benefit is exemption of qualifying property from assessment, not exemption of your entire home or a guaranteed dollar saving. The local assessor decides the applicable claim. Keep your utility permission-to-operate (PTO) letter and system ownership records; a sales contract is not evidence of the PTO date. These tax routes are not restricted to Eversource/UI customers or an income-qualified household, but their statutory equipment/property conditions still apply.

Do not import large-project rules into a homeowner quote. The act’s separate uniform solar capacity tax concerns systems above 1 MW whose nameplate capacity also exceeds the location’s load, with the specified PTO date. An ordinary residential rooftop system below that size is not subject to that tax merely because it gets the equipment exemption.

Where to file and the November 1 rule

1. Start with the OPM taxpayer forms index and M-44/M-44a energy-exemption application (PDF). The posted package is revised September 2025. File with the assessor in the town where the system is located—not DRS, the utility or SolarStateData. M-44 requires an accompanying M-44a for each system type.
2. Confirm which schedule and statutory route the assessor needs. The posted forms predate PA 26-134 and retain older subsection letters. For post-July 1, 2025 PTO, specifically ask how to document the current §12-81(57)(E) claim. Do not silently apply the residential schedule’s load test to every new PV exemption. Prepare owner/contact information, system location, installation/alteration date, installed cost, size and PTO evidence; the residential/farm schedule also asks for estimated annual production and load.
3. The statute requires filing on or before November 1 of the assessment year. For the assessment year starting October 1, 2026, arrange filing with the town ahead of November 1, 2026. That date is a Sunday: confirm the town’s receipt rules rather than assuming a Monday extension. Late or incomplete filing can waive that year’s exemption.
4. Keep the assessor’s receipt and decision. Once established, the statute does not require an annual reapplication unless the system is altered in a way requiring a building permit; then a new application is needed to re-establish the exemption. A prior approval is not an award of cash.

Current status, September 25, 2026: the enacted tax exemption and OPM filing route are in place; these are statutory tax benefits, not an open/closed/waitlist rebate pot. No live budget or reserved award applies in the cited claim process. No pre-installation property-tax reservation is specified here; check the route before signing, retain installation/PTO evidence and file on time. Utility construction approval remains a separate requirement.

Battery support is a different programme

Energy Storage Solutions offers upfront and performance-based support for qualifying Eversource and UI customers. A grid-service payment comes with operating obligations; it is not simply free backup capacity. Confirm the current rate, eligible installer/equipment, how dispatch affects your reserve and whether the exact installation qualifies. No current tier amount is assumed in this guide.

Budget without double counting

A production credit belongs in operating cash flow, not as an upfront reduction in installed cost. Keep a storage rebate separate from RRES income, avoid assuming both options apply to the same energy, and use the actual utility rules in your savings estimate.

Official sources and application routes

RRES sources reviewed September 16, 2026; DRS, OPM and enacted tax-law sources reviewed September 25, 2026. Programme administrators make eligibility decisions; live budgets, tariffs and filing instructions can change.

• DRS current sales-and-use-tax exemptions and certificate index: current CERT-140 route, checked September 25, 2026.
• Public Act 26-134 (PDF), approved June 4, 2026: §1, pp.1–5, property exemptions and filing; §3, pp.5–9, separate large-system capacity tax.
• OPM M-44/M-44a package (PDF), revised September 2025: main form and residential/farm schedule pp.1–2; older subsection references must be read with the 2026 act.
• Joint Eversource/UI RRES Program Manual, version 2026.1, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF): rates pp.11–15; eligibility pp.19–25; application/approval pp.26–27; fees pp.31–32. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
• Eversource installer documents and interconnection application route
• PURA programme overview and 2026 review links
• Eversource RRES eligibility and application guidance
• United Illuminating programme and current documents
• Energy Storage Solutions official programme

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