FindSolar.caPrince Edward Island's net metering is refreshingly plain: your surplus becomes kilowatt-hour credits on your Maritime Electric account, the credits offset later consumption, and nobody is mailing anyone cheques. Understanding that credits are energy, never cash, is the whole key to sizing an Island system correctly, and the utility's own FAQ says it in one sentence.
The rules, from the source
Verified on Maritime Electric's net metering page August 26, 2026: net metering credits are energy credits in kilowatt-hours and hold no cash value; they attach to the account with the generator and only that account; eligible systems run up to 100 kW, with larger installations sometimes needing three-phase service; and your bill shows credits generated each period alongside the balance carried forward. Credit expiry is governed by PEI's Renewable Energy Act, the legislative backstop behind the program.
What no-cash-value means for your design
Since surplus can only ever offset your own future consumption, production beyond what the account consumes has no monetization path at all. The sizing rule follows immediately: target annual production at or slightly below the account's annual usage, so every banked kilowatt-hour eventually meets a bill it can pay. The credits-stay-with-the-account rule adds a corollary worth knowing before life changes: they cannot migrate to another property, so a sale is the moment to have drained the bank, not filled it.
Approval and the Island process
Maritime Electric's solar pages and application process govern connection, and the standard Canadian sequence applies: application and approval before installation, inspection and utility work before operation, as the approval guide lays out. PEI's installer market is mature for the province's size, which mostly benefits homeowners, and our adoption guide covers what the Island's solar density does and does not prove about your house.
The estimate to demand
An Island payback model should value production in two tiers: consumption offset at retail value, and any modelled annual surplus at zero, because that is what no-cash-value arithmetic means. A quote valuing every produced kilowatt-hour as if it were sold has assumed a program PEI does not run. Run your own bill through the calculator first, and let the quotes compete against a benchmark you already hold.
Questions homeowners ask
Does Maritime Electric pay me cash for extra solar power?
No: per the utility's own FAQ, checked August 26, 2026, net metering credits are energy credits in kilowatt-hours and hold no cash value. They offset your account's future consumption and do nothing else, which is the single fact every Island sizing decision should be built on.
Can I move my solar credits to another property or account?
No: credits can only be used on the account with the generator. They do not transfer to other properties or accounts, which makes a planned move or sale the moment to have the bank drained rather than full, and one more argument against habitual overproduction.
How large should I size solar under PEI net metering?
At or slightly below the account's annual consumption, inside the program's 100 kW ceiling: since surplus has no cash path, every banked kilowatt-hour must eventually meet one of your own bills. Size from twelve months of usage, not from the roof's capacity or a neighbour's array.
What happens if I generate more electricity than I can use?
The surplus sits as account credits awaiting your future consumption, with expiry governed by PEI's Renewable Energy Act, and it never converts to money. Chronic overproduction therefore parks value you paid to generate. New load like an EV can rescue it; a cheque never will.
Do I need Maritime Electric approval before installing panels?
Yes: the utility's application and approval process precedes installation, with inspection and utility work before operation, the standard Canadian sequence. Your contract should be conditional on that approval, and your installer should file and manage the process as part of the job.
How should an installer value exported power in my payback estimate?
In two tiers: production offsetting your consumption at retail value, and modelled annual surplus at zero, because credits hold no cash value. An estimate valuing all production as if sold describes a program PEI does not operate, and flatters precisely the oversizing the real rules punish.