How We Simplify Community Solar Billing

Utility bills can be confusing, and community solar programs are notorious for unclear bills that make it difficult to track your real savings. Our goal is to make it simple: you can quickly see your savings each month and feel confident you’re getting the best deal.

What sets our billing system apart? 

1. Cascading Allocation Guarantees Savings

The Problem: Many community solar programs use a fixed allocation model, so you get assigned a fixed percentage of the total generation from your solar project year round. 

This can lead to:

• Paying for excess credits in peak months (May–September)
• Extreme seasonal variation in your real electricity costs
• Credits expiring after 12 months if unused

When you’re pre-paying in May for electricity you’re going to use in January, it is also hard to track your real savings and make sure your total costs are lower. 

Our Solution: MCPC uses a cascading allocation system. 

You only receive credits up to your actual electricity usage each month. For example, if you use 500 kWh, you receive up to 500 kWh in credits. This means:

• You only pay for what you actually use
• Your bill will never be higher than it would be without community solar
• Projects are carefully sized to meet member demand

Your monthly savings are tied directly to your actual electricity usage, so it’s easy to compare your costs and savings every month. 

2. Timely Bills

We issue your MCPC bill within a week of your Central Maine Power (CMP) bill. This ensures you can easily track your real savings with a clear paper trail each month.

3. Choose From Two Billing Options

You’ll continue receiving your CMP bill for:

• Delivery charge
• Any irregular fees (e.g., smart meter opt-out, late fees)
• Electricity usage not covered by solar credits

In addition to your CMP bill, you’ll receive a bill from MCPC. 

We offer two billing options: single bill and dual bill:

Single Bill (default): You'll receive a bill from MCPC that includes:

• The cost of kWh credits from our community solar program
• The balance of your CMP bill (delivery charge, fees, excess usage)

You can ignore your CMP bill and pay only your MCPC bill. We forward your payment to CMP on your behalf and include all discounts, so you only have to pay one bill each month.

Dual Bill: You'll receive a bill from MCPC that includes

• The cost of kWh credits from our community solar program

You'll continue paying your CMP bill directly (delivery charge and fees), and pay MCPC separately.

4. See Your Savings Every Month

If you use 480 kWh of electricity as a standard residential member (15% discount, Residential Rate A delivery, Standard Offer supply), your total costs of a full-price Central Maine Power electricity bill are about $150 per month. 

No matter which billing option you choose, you'll receive the same discount. Check out the table below for an example of how much you can save:

Estimated Savings for Standard Residential Customer with 15% Whole Bill Discount
Estimates Based on Rates Current as of 1/1/26

Questions? We're here to help. Contact us by emailing support@mainecommunitypower.com.