Your panels supply the house
Solar used while it is being generated reduces the electricity you need to buy from JPS Jamaica.
JPS net billing in Jamaica
What happens to solar electricity you do not use?
Net billing lets you sell spare solar electricity to JPS once your system is approved. The payment per unit is lower than the price you pay for electricity. Start by working out how much solar your home or business can use while the sun is out.
Checked 31 August 2026: the latest OUR notice available lists J$27.201/kWh for 2025 December. Export rates move monthly; always check the latest notice before relying on one figure.
What net billing means
Electricity you buy and sell is counted separately.
Surplus goes to the grid
An approved meter records electricity exported under the Standard Offer Contract.
Buying and selling use different rates
You buy imported electricity at the applicable retail tariff and receive the lower OUR-approved rate for exports.
The export price is the short-term variable avoided cost of generation plus a 15% renewable-energy premium. It mainly follows fuel-generation cost, so it changes. It is not the full residential price shown on your JPS bill.
For 100 kWh in the worked example above: using it in the home avoids about J$7,596; exporting it earns about J$2,720. That J$4,876 gap is why system size and daytime use matter.
Official 2025 export rates
The rate moved from J$19.17 to J$29.23.
Latest publishedJ$27.201/kWh2025 December
These are the monthly net-billing energy rates in the OUR notice issued 3 February 2026. November and December were unusually high relative to the rest of the year, so using the latest number as a long-term forecast would be optimistic.
Show the rate table
| Month | J$/kWh | Month | J$/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | 20.154 | July 2025 | 19.979 |
| February 2025 | 20.243 | August 2025 | 21.290 |
| March 2025 | 21.077 | September 2025 | 22.176 |
| April 2025 | 22.911 | October 2025 | 22.090 |
| May 2025 | 21.122 | November 2025 | 29.233 |
| June 2025 | 19.171 | December 2025 | 27.201 |
Is it worth doing?
Usually useful. Rarely the main reason to buy solar.
You already have daytime demand
Air conditioning, water pumping, a home office or business loads can absorb solar directly. Net billing catches the genuine surplus.
Your house is quiet all day
A large array may export much of its output at the lower rate. Ask for the quote to show self-use and exports separately.
More panels mean better payback
The 10 kW residential limit is a ceiling, not a target. The best financial size can be smaller.
A battery changes timing, not the export rule. It may raise self-consumption and provide backup during outages, but its cost can lengthen payback. Ask to see the quote with and without a battery.
Before an application
Four checks before paying a deposit.
- Your JPS accountYou must be a current JPS customer in good standing. Residential applications are for Rate 10 customers, and the applicant name should match the JPS tax invoice.
- The system sizeThe Ministry’s current requirements cap residential systems at 10 kW and commercial systems at 100 kW.
- The exact inverter modelIt must appear on the Bureau of Standards Jamaica approved-inverter list. A familiar brand name is not enough; check the model number and its Jamaica fit.
- The responsible professionalThe electrical line drawing must be certified by a licensed electrician or a professional electrical engineer registered with PERB.
Open the BSJ consumer-information page and current approved-inverter list →
Application process
The paperwork comes before permission to export.
- 1
Prepare the Ministry application
Use Application Form v2.0. The applicant details should correspond to the JPS tax invoice, and the facility address must include the city and parish.
- 2
Build the technical pack
Include a certified single-line drawing, JPS invoice no more than three months old, BSJ inverter listing and certificate, and an itemised bill of quantities/specifications.
- 3
Build the legal pack
Expect government ID and evidence of ownership or permission to use the property. Address differences, unregistered possession, leases, companies, charities or caveats need additional documents.
- 4
Pass the preliminary review and pay the processing fee
The Ministry’s current instruction sheet quotes a non-refundable J$19,000 processing fee. Follow the Ministry’s payment instruction after it has checked the submission.
- 5
Receive the licence and JPS contract
After approval and the additional per-kW fee, the licence is issued. The 2022 regulations say JPS has 30 days after receiving it to issue the OUR-approved Standard Offer Contract.
- 6
Construct, inspect and commission
The completed installation needs inspection and certification. Written notice, the applicable one-time use-of-system charge and JPS commissioning follow before legal export begins.
Do not energise an export connection early. The Ministry application form says applicants must not connect to or export energy to the grid without written approval from JPS Jamaica.
Fees and uncertainty
There is a published fee mismatch.
Processing fee
J$19,000Non-refundable; Ministry instruction sheet.Per-kW fee in current sheet
J$1,800/kWBased on permitted excess capacity.Per-kW fee in linked Gazette
J$1,500/kWThe Ministry still links the 2017 notice.The Ministry’s instruction sheet and the Gazette notice on the same official document page do not agree. We have shown both instead of choosing one. Confirm the amount and payment instructions directly with MSETT before paying.
These figures also exclude the drawing, inspection, any design changes, JPS use-of-system charge and installer administration. Ask a quotation to identify each of those separately.
The residential solar tax credit is a separate process. Published TAJ criteria require certification by a licensed electrical inspector, but do not list a net-billing licence as a condition. Do not let an installer use the tax credit to rush you into an export arrangement you do not need.
Questions for an installer
Get the net-billing promise in writing.
- Is this exact inverter model currently on the BSJ approved list?
- Who prepares and certifies the single-line drawing?
- Who submits the Ministry application, follows up and keeps copies?
- Are the J$19,000 processing fee, per-kW fee, inspection and JPS charges included?
- How many kWh does the proposal expect me to use directly and export each month?
- Will export remain disabled until written JPS approval and commissioning?
Short answers
Jamaica net-billing questions.
What is the current JPS net-billing rate?
The latest OUR notice available when this page was checked lists J$27.201/kWh for 2025 December. The export rate varies monthly; the 2025 range was J$19.171 to J$29.233/kWh.
Is net billing the same as net metering?
No. Under net billing, imported and exported electricity are valued separately. Sending one kWh to the grid does not cancel one imported kWh at the retail price.
How large can a residential system be?
The Ministry’s requirements say no more than 10 kW for a residential system. That is a maximum, not a recommendation.
How long does approval take?
There is no honest single end-to-end time to quote. The 2022 regulations give JPS 30 days to issue a Standard Offer Contract after receiving the licence, but document preparation, Ministry review, construction, inspection and commissioning are separate stages.
Can I connect now and finish the paperwork later?
Not for grid export. The current application form explicitly says not to connect to or export to the grid without written JPS approval. Discuss any non-export or isolated design with the responsible licensed electrical professional.
Primary sources
What this guide was checked against.
OUR net-billing rate notice2025 September–December rates and the full 2025 history; issued 3 February 2026.
MSETT net-billing document hubApplication, fees, licence, fact sheet and process documents.
Net Billing Application Form v2.0Applicant, technical and submission requirements.
Current Ministry instruction sheetJ$19,000 processing fee, J$1,800/kW figure and document checklist.
Bureau of Standards JamaicaOfficial live list of approved inverters.
JPS Jamaica net-billing pageJPS description of self-use, exports and separate purchase rates.
Government summary of the 2022 regulationsContract timing, ten-year licence duration and prohibited security deposits.
Government solar tax-credit summaryCredit amount, inspection evidence and claiming limits; a separate process from net billing.
Last fact-check: 31 August 2026. This is an independent practical guide, not legal advice or a substitute for instructions from MSETT, JPS Jamaica, OUR, BSJ or a licensed electrical professional.