Lakewood homeowners are Xcel Energy customers — Public Service Company of Colorado — subject to Colorado’s investor-owned utility net metering mandate. Colorado’s net metering policy is among the strongest in the country: full 1:1 retail-rate credits for every kilowatt-hour exported to the grid, rolling forward month-to-month with no cap on carryover. Xcel allows solar systems sized up to 200% of annual electricity usage — a generous sizing cap that accommodates future consumption growth from EV charging or heat pump additions without requiring a system redesign.
Xcel’s annual true-up occurs in April. Excess credits remaining at that point can be rolled forward indefinitely or cashed out at Xcel’s Average Hourly Incremental Cost — approximately 3–4¢ per kilowatt-hour, well below the retail credit rate. The right-sizing discipline follows: size to approximately 100% of current annual consumption to minimize the volume of credits that reach the April true-up at the lower payout rate. Lakewood’s Colorado Front Range climate — abundant sunshine with more than 300 days of sun annually, cold winters that build moderate credit balances, and warm-but-not-extreme summers — produces an annual production curve that typically draws down most summer surplus through fall and winter without large April surpluses for properly-sized systems.
Xcel’s TOU rate plans set on-peak hours from 5–9 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays year-round. Lakewood homeowners on TOU plans benefit from the natural alignment between Colorado’s afternoon solar peak and the approaching on-peak window — solar production through the early-to-mid afternoon builds credits at the off-peak rate, and west-facing panels extend production into the early on-peak period for direct offset of the most expensive grid electricity.
Xcel Energy has filed for a 9.9% residential rate increase under PUC Proceeding 25AL-0494E, proposed to take effect August 2026. For Lakewood homeowners evaluating solar, this rate case creates a specific timing consideration that doesn’t exist in most markets. A system installed and operational before the August rate increase locks in current installation costs against future electricity at a higher rate — every kilowatt-hour the system produces after August 2026 is worth more than what the financial models using current rates project. Systems installed after the rate increase begin at a higher savings rate from day one but were purchased at the same 2026 installation cost, producing a different payback trajectory. A third scenario — installing now and having the system operational before August — captures the full benefit.
The practical implication for Lakewood homeowners is a mid-2026 install window that has been actively discussed in the Colorado solar market. Typical Lakewood installation timelines — permitting through Jefferson County and Lakewood’s Building and Safety Division, plus Xcel interconnection — run approximately 6–10 weeks from contract signing to Permission to Operate. A contract signed in May or June 2026 has a reasonable probability of operational status before August, though timelines vary by installer capacity and permit queue. Beyond the August urgency, Xcel’s rate trajectory — four increases since 2020 and a pattern of annual increases driven by the coal-to-renewables transition and grid modernization — makes the long-term case for Lakewood solar independent of any single rate case.
Colorado solar installations average approximately $3.00–$3.30 per watt in 2026. Lakewood’s competitive Denver-metro installer market — with multiple established Front Range contractors competing for Jefferson County business — typically produces pricing at or below the state average. A typical Lakewood system of 7kW–10kW costs approximately $21,000–$33,000 before incentives. Colorado’s state sales tax exemption (2.9%) saves approximately $610–$960. The 100% property tax exemption prevents assessed value increases. No federal residential ITC applies to cash or loan purchases in 2026. Xcel’s Solar*Rewards income-qualified rebate ($1/W up to 10kW AC, program opened May 2026) applies to qualifying Lakewood households. Colorado’s 10% state income tax credit on battery storage — expiring December 31, 2026 — provides a time-sensitive incentive for adding storage. At Xcel’s current 14–15¢ blended rate, cash-purchase payback for Lakewood systems runs approximately 11–14 years, improving with each future Xcel rate increase that raises the value of net metering credits.
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