How Siloam Springs' "buy‑all/sell‑all" net‑metering works and why residents still pay for power

City staff walked commissioners through how Siloam Springs credits rooftop solar under the city's avoided‑cost, or buy‑all/sell‑all, structure.

Phil, an electric department staff member, explained that customers remain connected to the municipal grid and pay the city's residential retail rate for electricity they consume. "Net metering means that we have another source of electricity besides the city," he said. "If you have a bill that's higher than what you think it should be, you can look at the meter and see when you used all this electricity."

Under the buy‑all/sell‑all approach the city pays solar producers the utility's avoided cost — the energy‑only portion it would otherwise buy from its supplier, the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA). Staff illustrated that avoided‑cost credits can be roughly 4.3¢/kWh in an example, while the city's residential retail rate is 10.1¢/kWh. Phil said the difference exists because avoided cost excludes demand and distribution components that remain the city's responsibility.

Commissioners asked how those numbers affect a homeowner's return. Staff noted that solar plus storage entails substantial upfront costs and that, at current buyback levels and absent storage, most residential systems will not pay off quickly. Commissioners requested that staff provide more detailed modeling of customer economics in any future recommendations.