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Complete guide to installing solar with Hydro One. Learn about connection fees, net metering, grid capacity, and maximize your savings across Ontario's service areas including Barrie, Collingwood, Peterborough, North Bay, and more.
Read Hydro One Solar GuideDetailed breakdown of Hydro One connection costs
Maximize credits and annual electricity bill savings
Check capacity for your Hydro One service area
A zero export solar system in Ontario is designed so every kilowatt-hour you generate is used or stored on site, with nothing sent to the grid. To size one, match production to what your home can absorb: summer daytime consumption plus usable battery capacity. Oversize it and the surplus is simply curtailed, which wastes capital and stretches payback.
BC Hydro closed net metering (Rate Schedule 1289) to new solar customers on July 1, 2026. New customers and rebate recipients move to the Self Generation Service Rate (Rate Schedule 2289), which pays a flat 10 cents per kWh for exports, credited each billing cycle. Existing customers who never took a solar rebate keep their old rate for 10 years from their original start date. The BCUC approved the change on March 24, 2026.
In 2026, a typical Ontario 8 kW system costs about $19,400 to $28,000 before rebates, roughly $14,400 to $23,000 after the $5,000 provincial solar rebate. Payback across Ontario is about 7 to 13 years. Using OEB and NRCan data for Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Kitchener, and Windsor.
A well-built online solar calculator lands within about 15 to 20 percent of a professional installer quote on system size and cost. A full site assessment narrows the production estimate to around 5 percent. Where calculators get weaker: exact shading, roof condition, panel upgrades, permit and connection fees, and net metering credit value. The honest breakdown, backed by NREL, NRCan, the OEB, and ESA.
Elexicon Energy customers in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Clarington, Belleville, Gravenhurst, Port Hope and more can go solar with net metering, HRSP rebates up to $10,000, and ULO rate savings. Complete 2026 Ontario guide.
In Ontario in 2026 you generally choose one of two solar savings paths, not both. The HRS rebate pays up to $10,000 but requires load displacement only. Net metering pays no rebate but credits exports. Compare both paths with official sources.
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