Selling Surplus Solar Electricity: What Happens to Excess Energy?

Selling surplus electricity means that the energy your unlicensed solar system produces beyond your own consumption is fed to the grid and netted, and the supply company in charge pays for it. This is not free electricity trading, however: payment is calculated on the active energy unit price, which is lower than the total unit price on the bill. As of October 2026, net metering is monthly for residential subscribers and hourly for new non-residential facilities from 1 May 2026. Rules can change.

Why is selling surplus electricity tied to the "own consumption" principle?

Under the unlicensed electricity generation regulation, unlicensed producers generate to meet their own needs. They cannot sell surplus energy through bilateral agreements or on the organized wholesale market (Art. 24/5). In other words, you cannot operate the system on your roof like a "power plant" and sell to a third-party buyer. The surplus energy is fed to the grid; in return, the rule assesses it with a specific price and net metering method.

With the 25.11.2025 amendment, it also became possible for surplus energy to be handled through an aggregator. The implementation details of this mechanism depend on the project and the grid operator's processes. For the general framework of the legislation, see our article on the unlicensed electricity generation regulation.

How is surplus electricity netted: monthly or hourly?

Monthly net metering for residential use

For facilities tied to a residential subscription, net metering is done monthly by the market operator (EPİAŞ, Energy Exchange Istanbul) (Art. 26/20). Also, for residential use, no generation or sale limit (paid generation limit) applies regardless of installed capacity. The capacity limit is the contract power; the simple procedure is up to 25 kW.

Hourly net metering for non-residential use

For renewable unlicensed facilities (non-residential) that received a connection approval letter (çağrı mektubu) after 12.05.2019, generation and consumption have been netted separately for each hour since 1 May 2026. Net metering is run through EPİAŞ's Unlicensed Generation Module (LÜM). The surplus energy a business produces at noon does not match the energy it consumes at night; each hour is assessed on its own. We explained the basic logic of net metering in our article on what a net metering system is.

How much does selling surplus electricity pay?

The most commonly confused point is the payment price. Surplus energy is assessed at the single-rate active electricity energy unit price of the relevant tariff in the activity-based tariff table approved by the Board. If there are several tariffs in the group, the lowest one is used (Decision 14531, Art. 4/1-l and Art. 11). This is lower than the total unit price on the bill, which includes distribution charges and taxes.

Claims such as "surplus electricity is paid at the wholesale market price (PTF)" or "roughly this many TL/kWh is paid" do not match the official procedure. According to EPDK's tariff valid from 4 April 2026, the bill of a residential subscriber consuming 100 kWh is 323.8 TL including taxes; that is, the total corresponds to roughly 3.24 TL per kWh (calculation). But this figure is not paid for surplus energy; only the active energy unit price is paid. As the current tariff changes, these values change too; check the payment amount against the EPDK table with that day's value.

Example in Antalya: a 5.4 kWp villa roof

Let us make the numbers concrete. Consider a 5.445 kWp system made up of 9 panels of 605 W. According to PVGIS 5.3, monthly specific production at the optimum tilt in Antalya city is 99 kWh/kWp in January, 150 in April, 168 in July and 137 in October. The table below multiplies these values by the system capacity and compares them with a hypothetical monthly consumption. The consumption values are assumptions for illustration, not real household figures.

The production values show the ideal condition of unshaded, south-facing and optimum tilt; in reality they would be lower. The table shows that in Antalya, because consumption stays low and production is high in spring and autumn, the surplus arises mostly in these months. In July consumption rises because of the air-conditioning load and the surplus falls. Because monthly net metering applies for residential use, this surplus is assessed net at month-end.

When and from whom does the payment come?

The payment for surplus energy is made to the facility owner by the supply company in charge (Decision 14531, Art. 8). According to Regulation Art. 25, the market operator's payment is made by the 5th business day of the following month. If the supplier pays late, late-payment interest at twice the rate in Article 51 of Law No. 6183 is applied. Because the day on which the money reaches the end user's account (bill offset or cash payment) cannot be fully derived from the official text, we do not use a definitive statement on this; confirm with your supplier.

Secondary sources name CK Akdeniz Elektrik Perakende Satış A.Ş. as the supply company in charge in Antalya; because this information has not been confirmed from the EPDK license record, you should check the bill and supplier details on your own bill.

Cases where no payment is made or it is limited

• If the paid generation limit is exceeded: Net metering continues, but the excess portion is treated as subject to system usage charges. This limit does not exist for residential use.
• If the contract power condition is not met: Generation is counted as an unpaid contribution to YEKDEM and no payment is made (Art. 28).
• Violation of legislation or illegal use: Generation is counted as unpaid; in illegal use, this covers the month of detection and the following 6 billing periods.
• Energy fed from the battery to the grid: No payment is made for the portion of the surplus remaining after net metering that is supplied from storage.
• Certain types of self-consumption facilities: The surplus remaining after hourly net metering may be counted as unpaid; confirm with the grid operator which class your facility falls into.

The rule on storage is also important: an unlicensed facility owner can install a storage unit up to its electrical power (Additional Article 3). The statement "you can sell the electricity you store in the battery to the grid" is wrong; no payment is made for energy fed from storage to the grid. Hybrid systems help you use surplus energy for your own consumption in the evening; you can find the details in the article on hybrid solar energy systems.

Why is self-consumption more valuable than selling surplus electricity?

For residential use, the cost avoided through self-consumption is the unit price with all the components on the bill. For surplus energy, only the active energy unit price is paid. For this reason, rather than relying on selling surplus electricity, it makes sense to raise the self-consumption ratio; as the self-consumption ratio rises, the payback period of the investment tends to shorten. This is an interpretation, and the rule it rests on is that the surplus energy payment is tied to the single-rate active energy unit price (Decision 14531). Shifting consumption to daytime (washing machine and dishwasher, pool pump) or adding a battery are ways of reducing surplus energy.

Another rule that affects the electricity price is the Last Resort Supply Tariff. In 2026 the annual limit for residential use is 4,000 kWh; if the limit is exceeded and there is no bilateral agreement, the tariff may apply. We explained this in the article on the last resort supply tariff and solar energy. You can see net metering system options on our net metering systems page.

Checklist before deciding, and conclusion

1. Find out your subscriber group (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural irrigation) and the net metering type (monthly or hourly).
2. Choose system capacity according to contract power and real consumption; take into account that the payment for surplus is low.
3. Confirm which rules tied to the connection approval letter date will apply.
4. If you will add a battery, remember that no payment is made from storage to the grid.
5. Consult the supply company in charge on the payment date and method.

Selling surplus electricity is a supplementary income of a solar investment; the main value comes from self-consumption. The rules are date-dependent and may change after October 2026. If you would like to calculate the surplus energy scenario for your roof or business together, you can request a free site survey.

#Regulations and Applications#Surplus Electricity#Net Metering#Yekdem#Electricity Sales#Regulation