Illinois Solar Answers

Solar in Naperville vs. the ComEd suburbs

Written by Chad Panton, Co-founder, ISI Energy · Last reviewed October 2026

Short answer: Most of the Chicago suburbs are served by ComEd, but Naperville, St. Charles, Batavia, Geneva, and Winnetka run their own municipal electric utilities. If you live in one of them, ComEd's net metering rules and ComEd's Distributed Generation Rebate do not apply to you. Your city sets its own interconnection process, its own credit for exported solar, and its own incentives, if any. In Naperville, exported electricity is credited one kWh for one kWh against the electric utility portion of the bill, credits expire each March 31, and the City's small solar incentive is awarded first-come until its annual budget runs out. Always confirm which utility serves your address before anyone models your solar.

Which suburbs have their own electric utility?

In ISI Energy's six-county service area, the municipalities that operate their own electric utilities rather than being served by ComEd include Naperville (DuPage and Will counties), St. Charles, Batavia, and Geneva (Kane County), and Winnetka (Cook County). If your electric bill comes from the City or Village rather than from ComEd, you are a municipal utility customer.

This matters because almost everything written about "Illinois solar" assumes ComEd or Ameren rules. For municipal customers, the city's own documents are the primary source. Naperville's are the most detailed, so this article uses Naperville as the example. If you are in another municipal territory, the same questions apply; the answers come from your city.

How does Naperville credit exported solar?

Naperville's Department of Public Utilities, Electric, updated its solar policy in April 2025. Under the current policy:

Credits for exported electricity are applied "on a 1-kilowatt hour to 1-kilowatt hour basis" against the electric utility component of the bill. Meter fees, demand charges, and other City utility charges are excluded from the offset.
Credits accumulate month to month and expire March 31 each year.
Expired credits are paid out in April at the City's avoided-cost rate, which the City's page lists as 4.9 cents per kWh at the time of its last update.
Systems "may not be larger than 1MW" and must be reasonably sized to the customer's usage, as determined by the Utility.

(Source: City of Naperville, Solar Panel Guidelines, naperville.il.us.)

Compare this with ComEd, where new systems receive supply-only credits that do not expire. Naperville's one-for-one kWh credit is more generous per kWh exported, but the annual expiration means oversizing a system to bank credits does not pay off. See How solar billing works for ComEd customers for the ComEd side.

What does interconnection look like in Naperville?

The system must be "primarily intended to offset a customer's own electrical requirements," located on premises the customer owns or leases, and on the customer's side of the meter.
The customer and the City must both sign an Interconnection Agreement, requested through the City's online form. The April 2025 policy requires a new agreement for all solar customers.
The system may operate only after it passes a final electrical inspection by a City electrical inspector.
All applicable permits are the customer's responsibility under the Service Rules (in practice, your installer pulls them). A City building permit is required to reinstall a system removed for re-roofing, and "any modification to an existing system will require a City of Naperville Building Permit."

(Source: City of Naperville, Solar Panel Guidelines.)

Does Naperville offer a solar rebate?

The City offers a Renewable Energy Program incentive of $250 per kW AC, up to $1,750 (a 7 kW AC maximum), for customer-owned systems. Key conditions from the City's page:

Leased systems are not eligible.
Applications must be submitted within 120 days of final inspection.
The customer contributes $5 per month to the Renewable Energy Program for five years.
One incentive per customer.
Incentives are first-come, first-served with no waiting list. As of the page's last update, the City reported that 100 percent of the $280,000 annual budget had been awarded and applications were closed for the rest of the year.

(Source: City of Naperville, Solar Panel Guidelines.)

Two implications: timing matters if the incentive is part of your decision, and ownership matters, because a lease or PPA disqualifies you. Note also that ComEd's $300-per-kW Distributed Generation Rebate is a ComEd program and does not apply to Naperville customers.

Does Illinois Shines apply in a municipal utility territory?

Illinois Shines publishes separate net metering guidance for "customers in Mount Carmel, rural electric cooperatives, or municipal utility service territories," which tells you the program contemplates these customers. (Source: Illinois Shines Consumer FAQs.) Eligibility details and how the REC value is handled should be confirmed with the Approved Vendor on your project and stated in your Disclosure Form, which must explain how your specific utility will credit exported electricity. See How Illinois Shines works. Do not assume a proposal modeled for ComEd applies to you.

Questions to ask if you live in a municipal utility town

1. Which utility serves my address, and is this proposal modeled on that utility's rules?

2. How does my city credit exported electricity, and do credits expire?

3. Is there a city incentive, is funding available this year, and does my ownership structure qualify?

4. What is the city's interconnection process and inspection requirement, and who handles it?

5. Does the Disclosure Form describe my city's credit, or ComEd's?

What this means for you

If you live in Naperville, St. Charles, Batavia, Geneva, or Winnetka, the single most important thing you can do is make sure whoever is talking to you about solar knows it, and has modeled your system on your city's rules rather than ComEd's. At ISI Energy, "which utility serves your home?" is the first question we ask, and the consultation uses your city's published policy as the source. Book a free consultation or call (224) 395-1162.

Frequently asked questions

Does ComEd net metering apply in Naperville?

No. Naperville operates its own municipal electric utility with its own interconnection and credit policy. Exported electricity is credited one kWh for one kWh against the electric utility portion of the bill, and credits expire March 31 each year. Source: City of Naperville, Solar Panel Guidelines.

Is there a solar rebate in Naperville?

The City offers $250 per kW AC, up to $1,750, for customer-owned systems, subject to annual funding and conditions including a five-year $5 monthly program contribution. Leased systems are not eligible. Source: City of Naperville, Solar Panel Guidelines.

Which Chicago suburbs have municipal electric utilities?

In Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, municipalities that operate their own electric utilities include Naperville, St. Charles, Batavia, Geneva, and Winnetka. If your electric bill comes from the City or Village rather than ComEd, you are a municipal utility customer.

Sources

City of Naperville, Department of Public Utilities, Electric, "Solar Panel Guidelines," naperville.il.us
Illinois Shines, "Consumer FAQs," illinoisshines.com/faqs/
ComEd, "Net Metering Frequently Asked Questions" (2025)

ISI ENERGY LLC is a sales, education, and project-coordination company and is not affiliated with the City of Naperville, ComEd, any utility, the Illinois Power Agency, or Illinois Shines. City policies and incentive funding change; confirm current terms with the City before relying on them.