Lafayette Energy Guide: Solar, Batteries, Backup Power and EV

In short: Lafayette is unusual: the city-owned utility, LUS, charged homes about 10.1¢ per kWh in 2024, kept normal-day outages to about 33 minutes per customer, and still offers monthly net metering for home solar. SLEMCO and Entergy Louisiana customers nearby pay a bit more and get roughly 3.9¢ and 2.6¢ for exported solar.

This page covers Lafayette and Youngsville. For statewide rules, contractor licensing and Louisiana’s averages, see our Louisiana energy guide. Which of the three utilities serves your home decides most of what follows.

Lafayette at a glance

• Lafayette Utilities System (LUS, city-owned): about 10.1¢ per kWh for homes (2024 average). Outages in 2024: 33 minutes per customer on normal days and 167 counting major events, with fewer than one interruption a year on normal days (EIA-861).
• SLEMCO (Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation): about 11.6¢ per kWh. It reports outages under a different method from most utilities: 167 minutes on normal days and 985 with major events in 2024, not directly comparable with LUS or Entergy.
• Entergy Louisiana: also listed by EIA in Lafayette Parish; about 11.1¢ per kWh; 213 minutes out on normal days and 610 with major events (company-wide, 2024).
• Sun: 4.62 kWh per square meter per day (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020), about 1,350 kWh a year per kW of panels by our rough estimate.
• Top hazards: hurricanes and lightning rated “very high” in Lafayette Parish, with cold waves and ice storms “relatively high” (FEMA National Risk Index).
• Public charging: 58 public ports in Lafayette (AFDC, October 3, 2026).

Your utility and what it means

LUS. As a city utility, LUS sets its own rules rather than following the Public Service Commission’s 2020 change. Its residential net metering works month by month: if your panels send more to the grid than you take, the extra kWh are credited on the next bill, and credits carry forward for as long as you keep service. Only when you close the account does LUS pay out the balance, at its avoided cost of $0.045 per kWh, which it resets every November. Home systems can be up to 25 kW, under interconnection standards revised July 1, 2025, and you submit an application and an interconnection agreement before connecting. New commercial customers have been on a separate distributed generation rate since July 2025. See LUS net metering.

SLEMCO. The co-op credits exported solar at an avoided-cost rate, currently $0.0393 per kWh. It recalculates the rate from the prior year’s average wholesale market price, posts it each January and applies it from February. See SLEMCO distributed generation.

Entergy Louisiana. State rules apply: solar used at home saves the retail price, exports earn $0.0259 per kWh from April 1, 2025, and pre-2020 systems keep retail net metering until the end of 2034. See Entergy Louisiana’s net metering page.

Backup power in Lafayette

LUS customers averaged about half an hour of normal-day outages in 2024, against about 206 minutes for Louisiana as a whole. But reliability numbers don’t stop hurricanes. FEMA rates the hurricane risk in Lafayette Parish “very high”, and when a storm damages lines, every utility needs time to rebuild.

• In town on LUS: a portable power station or a home battery handles most short outages without noise or fuel.
• For hurricane season, anywhere in the parish: a standby generator on natural gas or propane, or a portable generator with a transfer switch. Size it with the generator sizing tool.
• Compare first: read backup power options and generator installation.

SLEMCO’s safety page reminds members to follow the generator’s manual and power appliances with proper extension cords rather than plugging into house wiring; a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician is the safe way to feed circuits. Since January 2023, Louisiana’s construction code requires carbon monoxide alarms in each bedroom and the living area when a standby generator is installed outside. Never run a generator indoors or in a garage.

Solar in Lafayette

Each kW of panels makes about 1,350 kWh a year here by our estimate. On LUS, monthly netting values most of it at the retail price: about $135 per kW a year at 10.1¢. On SLEMCO, the same kW is worth about $155 if you use every kWh yourself and about $53 if you export it all; on Entergy Louisiana, about $150 used at home or $35 exported. These are estimates, not promises.

The odd result: LUS treats exports best but has the cheapest power, so savings per panel are modest everywhere. On LUS, a system sized to your yearly use is reasonable; on SLEMCO or Entergy, size to your daytime use or plan a battery. Racking must handle hurricane winds, and the federal 25D credit ended for systems completed after 2025. Try the solar potential calculator, then read solar costs and solar installation.

Home batteries in Lafayette

For LUS customers, a battery is a backup decision, not a savings one, because net metering already credits exports kWh for kWh. For SLEMCO and Entergy customers, a battery also lets you keep midday solar for the evening instead of exporting it for 3.9¢ or 2.6¢. EIA counted 1,026 net-metered home solar systems at SLEMCO in 2024 and none paired with a battery. Remember that grid-tied solar alone shuts off in an outage. See battery installation, home battery cost and the battery backup calculator.

EV charging in Lafayette

Lafayette has 58 public ports. Home charging is cheap here: using about 30 kWh per 100 miles, roughly $3.05 per 100 miles on LUS, $3.45 on SLEMCO and $3.30 on Entergy Louisiana at 2024 averages (estimates). We found no LUS or SLEMCO charger rebate; Entergy customers can check the eTech page, which lists $250 for an ENERGY STAR Level 2 charger. A Level 2 charger needs a 240-volt circuit and a permit: see EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.

Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Lafayette: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.

Permits and inspections

• Lafayette Consolidated Government: the Development and Planning department handles permits for the City of Lafayette and unincorporated Lafayette Parish. Most construction needs a permit before work starts; start at its building permits page. We found no solar or generator guide, so ask which trade permits apply.
• City of Youngsville: ask the city which office handles your permit.
• Utility approval: LUS, SLEMCO and Entergy each require their own interconnection application before solar or a battery is switched on.

Use a licensed contractor (state license lookup on the Louisiana page); they pull permits and arrange inspections. In HOA neighborhoods, check rules on roof panels and generator placement first.

Cities we cover

• Lafayette
• Youngsville

Get help in Lafayette

Tell us about your project and we will connect you with a licensed, independent installer who serves the Lafayette area. It is free, there is no obligation, and only the installer you choose gets your details. See how it works.

Lafayette energy FAQ

Does LUS still offer net metering?

Yes, for residential customers. Excess kWh are credited on the next bill and carry forward month to month. Only when you end service is the remaining credit paid out, at LUS’s avoided cost, $0.045 per kWh under the December 2025 rate sheet.

Why are the rules different from the rest of Louisiana?

LUS is owned by the city, so its rates and net metering rules are set locally by ordinance rather than by the Public Service Commission. SLEMCO and Entergy Louisiana follow the commission’s rules, which credit exports from newer systems at avoided cost.

How big a solar system can I connect in Lafayette?

On LUS, up to 25 kW for a home and 300 kW for other customers, using solar, wind or qualified biomass. You also need an outdoor disconnect LUS can reach at all hours, unless your inverter meets the waiver conditions in its standards.

Is a generator still worth it with LUS’s reliability?

For everyday outages, a battery or power station is usually enough. Hurricanes are different: FEMA rates the risk “very high” for the parish, and a storm can damage lines for days. Many households keep a generator for that case.

Sources

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 for 2024 (sales, reliability, service territories, net metering), read October 3, 2026. Lafayette Utilities System net metering page, net metering and distributed generation rate sheets (December 2025) and interconnection standards (Rev. 5, July 2025); SLEMCO distributed generation and generator safety pages; Entergy Louisiana net metering page; Entergy eTech, read October 3, 2026. Lafayette Consolidated Government building permits. FEMA National Risk Index. NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020. AFDC Station Locator, October 3, 2026.