How Solar Buyback Works with GVEC and New Braunfels Utilities

If you install rooftop solar in our service area, your utility — not the installer — sets the rules for connecting to the grid and for any credit you receive when your system sends extra electricity out through the meter. Two utilities serve many of the homes we work on: Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) and New Braunfels Utilities (NBU). The City of Seguin also operates its own electric department. This article summarizes what those utilities currently publish. Always confirm details with your utility before you buy, because tariffs and interconnection manuals can change.

GVEC (Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative)

GVEC allows interconnection and parallel operation of distributed resources with a design capacity of 50 kW or less under Section 3.2 of its cooperative tariff, effective November 1, 2025. Larger systems are handled under a separate policy and usually require a study.

For systems in that 50 kW-or-less category, the tariff asks the member (the “Producer”) to submit an application and an application fee at least 120 days before construction, and to sign an interconnection agreement before the system is connected. The member must also notify GVEC in writing at least 30 days before operating the system, and again 30 days before making changes that affect its characteristics, performance, or protection. GVEC may require a separate meter to measure the renewable installation’s output; the tariff says that meter, and associated wiring and switchgear up to the point of interconnection, is installed at GVEC’s expense.

On buyback, the official language is specific. Under “Purchases from Producer,” the tariff says GVEC “shall pay the Producer for all electric energy purchased at the current Delivery Charge, in addition to the applicable Generation and Transmission Charge,” and that those payments “will be credited to the Producer's electric service account.” GVEC’s general manager has described the same change in member communications: exported energy — whether from solar, batteries, or both — is credited at both the Generation & Transmission (G&T) Charge and the Delivery Charge, shown as a single “Renewable Energy Credit” line.

For single-phase general service (schedule G-1), the same tariff lists a $25.00 service availability charge per meter per billing cycle and a Delivery Charge of $0.023818 per kWh. The G&T charge is not a single fixed number in the tariff; it is a calculated energy charge that the board may adjust. Because of that, we will not invent a combined “buyback rate” in cents per kWh. The service availability charge is a fixed monthly amount and is not described in the tariff as being offset by export credits.

GVEC also publishes a solar/battery interconnection agreement for systems with output under 50 kW, and an interconnection page that explains how to submit the agreement and that a monitoring meter and a change to a “renewable rate” are part of selling excess electricity back to GVEC. After the meter is installed, GVEC asks members to allow one billing cycle for the renewable rate to take effect. If a home changes owners, GVEC says a new interconnection agreement is needed or the account can revert to a non-renewable rate.

New Braunfels Utilities

NBU is a municipally owned utility serving New Braunfels and surrounding area. Its Electrical Connection Policy allows distributed energy resources of 24 kW on residential service (or 999 kW on commercial service) to connect for parallel operation with advance NBU approval. Interconnections are considered for permanent customers whose load is expected to normally exceed the installation’s capacity. The policy requires a visible, lockable, labeled AC disconnect, typically on an exterior wall and within ten feet of the meters, and, for most services 320 amps or less, two meter bases — one for consumption and one for generation.

NBU also publishes a solar FAQ (dated January 2, 2024) that describes billing this way: a separate meter registers solar production; production is subtracted from overall energy usage; and if the system produces more than the home used that month, the over-production is applied as a 1:1 kWh credit and carried forward. The FAQ also notes that customers still receive a monthly NBU bill, including a delivery-point charge based on system size and an electric service availability charge, plus any other utility services. Those dollar amounts in the 2024 FAQ may be out of date.

NBU’s FY2026 electric rate table is more recent. It describes a Net Metering Service Rate available to residential and small general service customers with grid-connected solar or wind of 10 kilowatts or less where the customer’s load profile exceeds the generating capacity. It says any power the customer generates may be used to offset power purchased from NBU, and that “New Braunfels Utilities will not purchase excess generation.” The table lists a residential solar delivery adder of $1.80 per kW. If you are comparing the FAQ’s 1:1 kWh credit language with the rate table’s “will not purchase excess generation” language, treat them as complementary until NBU tells you otherwise: a kWh credit is not the same thing as a cash purchase. Confirm which rate and credit rules apply to your system size.

NBU’s 2024 FAQ also describes a rebate of up to $3,000 for residential electric customers who use a Participating Solar Contractor, with terms that NBU can end at any time. SolCheck does not claim to be on that participating-contractor list unless and until that is verified. If the rebate matters to you, ask NBU for the current program rules and contractor list.

City of Seguin

The City of Seguin operates a municipal electric department and publishes a Distributed Generation Technical Manual and Interconnection Guide, along with a Solar/Distributed Generation page. In short, interconnection requires an application and city approval before installation, and the city may require a study depending on the system. If your home is inside Seguin’s electric territory, we will follow the city’s current process rather than GVEC’s or NBU’s. Some addresses inside the city limits are served by another utility; confirm yours before we design.

What this means for a SolCheck proposal

We will identify your utility, walk through its current interconnection steps, and explain — without inflating the numbers — how exported energy is treated today. A battery can change how much energy you export, because you can store midday production for evening use. None of this is a guarantee of savings. Your bill will still include fixed charges, and utility rules can change.

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