In short: In Utah County, your city decides your solar math. Provo and Lehi run their own power utilities, at about 11.4¢ and 11.0¢ per kWh in 2024 with well under an hour of outages a year, and both wipe out unused solar credits once a year. Orem and American Fork are on Rocky Mountain Power’s rules instead.
Below: how each utility treats solar, what that means for batteries and backup, and where permits come from. For statewide rules (Rocky Mountain Power’s export credit and battery incentive, the plug-in solar law, contractor licensing), see our Utah energy guide.
Utah County at a glance
- Provo City Power: owned by the city. About 11.4¢ per kWh for homes in 2024; 35 minutes without power per customer, with or without major events, and about one outage every two years (EIA-861, 2024).
- Lehi City Power: owned by the city. About 11.0¢ per kWh; 42 minutes without power, about 0.4 outages per customer.
- Rocky Mountain Power: serves Orem and American Fork. About 12.5¢ per kWh; across its Utah system, 118 minutes out with major events and 109 without.
- Other city utilities: Spanish Fork, Springville, Payson and Salem also run their own; check your bill.
- Sun: about 4.80 kWh per square meter per day (NASA POWER, 2001–2020), the same grid cell as Salt Lake City. Our rough estimate: about 1,400 kWh a year per kW of panels.
- Top hazards: FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Utah County “very high” for lightning and “relatively high” for avalanche, earthquake, flooding, strong wind, wildfire and winter weather.
- Public charging: 100 ports in Orem, 91 in Provo, 87 in Lehi and 20 in American Fork (AFDC, October 2026).
Your utility and what it means
Provo City Power. Provo’s documents credit power your panels send to the grid at about 6.5 to 6.7¢ per kWh for customers who joined after October 2016, a little over half the average price. Leftover credits are zeroed out every February with no exceptions, so an oversized system loses money. Provo invites you to call (801) 852-6852 before you sign, and will review a contractor’s proposal with you. It also offers SharedSolar, where you buy blocks of output from a community solar farm instead of putting panels on your roof. Read Provo’s solar page first.
Lehi City Power. Under Lehi’s net metering policy, systems up to 10 kW earn credits in kWh at your normal retail price, carried month to month. Any balance left at your March bill is zeroed out, with no cash payment, and the city may change the program at any time. Lehi also has a Solar Power Purchase Program: it pays a fixed 5¢ per kWh for 20 years for all output of a 1 to 10 kW system, with a $1,500 application fee in the policy as written. See Lehi’s solar page.
Rocky Mountain Power (Orem, American Fork). Net billing with a low export credit, the Wattsmart Battery payments and a time-of-use plan with a 6 to 10 p.m. weekday peak. Details on our Utah page.
Rebates. Provo’s and Lehi’s current rebate lists cover things like heat pumps, water heaters, appliances and electric yard tools, but no battery or home EV charger rebate.
Backup power in Utah County
Provo and Lehi customers lose power less than an hour a year on average, so backup here is mostly about rare big events: a winter storm, a strong windstorm or an earthquake on the Wasatch Front. Homes on Rocky Mountain Power lines near the foothills and canyons may also see wildfire safety outages. The utility can call a Public Safety Power Shutoff anywhere it serves, usually with about 48 hours’ notice, and its fire-season line settings can make outages longer.
- Short outages: a portable power station covers phones, internet, a CPAP and lights.
- Days without power: a home battery with solar, or a standby generator on a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician. See generator installation.
Remember that grid-tied solar alone shuts off in an outage, as Provo’s own Q&A points out. Compare options in our backup power guide and size them with the battery backup calculator and generator sizing tool. Generators run outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house (CPSC).
Solar in Utah County
Each kW of panels makes about 1,400 kWh a year by our rough estimate. Used at home, that is worth about $160 in Provo, $154 in Lehi and $176 on Rocky Mountain Power at 2024 average prices. The rule everywhere in the county is the same: size the system to what you use. In Provo and Lehi, credits that pile up in summer vanish once a year; on Rocky Mountain Power, exports earn only a few cents. These are estimates, not quotes.
Provo Power says installers should hold a Utah S200 or S202 electrical license and NABCEP certification, and that it never works with or sponsors any solar company. Check your roof with the solar potential tool and solar savings calculator, and read how solar installation works, solar cost and net metering vs net billing.
A note on balcony solar in Provo
Utah’s law allows small plug-in systems (see our plug-in solar by state guide). But Provo Power’s page says no balcony solar system has UL certification yet, so in its view none is approved under Utah code today, and it asks you to call before buying one. Lehi and other utilities may see it differently; ask yours.
Home batteries in Utah County
In Provo and Lehi, a battery mainly buys backup: neither city lists a battery rebate or an evening peak price on the pages we read. Pairing a battery with solar does let you use more of your own output instead of building credits that expire. In Orem and American Fork, Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Battery program and its time-of-use prices make the case stronger. If you add a battery to solar, show it on the plans you send the city utility. See home batteries, battery costs and battery installation.
EV charging in Utah County
At about 30 kWh per 100 miles, home charging costs about $3.30 per 100 miles in Lehi, $3.40 in Provo and $3.75 on Rocky Mountain Power at the 2024 average price, or about $2.15 on its summer off-peak rate (our estimates). Rocky Mountain Power customers can also join Wattsmart Drive for up to $100 in bill credits the first year. A Level 2 charger needs a 240-volt circuit and an electrical permit. See EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Provo: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
- Provo: forms and the electrical permit go through the city’s online portal. Provo’s timeline: up to 30 business days for building permit approval, a Community Development inspection, then Provo Power’s final inspection and new meter. Plan on about three months in all, plus the installer’s own schedule.
- Lehi: solar plans need Lehi Power’s approval stamp before they go to the Building and Inspections department, through Lehi’s solar portal. Wait for written approval before switching on.
- Orem: solar needs a building permit, applied for online through CityInspect (see Orem’s what needs a permit list).
- American Fork: ask the city’s building department. Unincorporated areas: Utah County Community Development, which publishes a residential solar checklist.
- HOAs: get written approval before you sign.
Cities we cover
- Lehi
- Provo
- Orem
- American Fork
Get help in Utah County
Are you a licensed installer in Provo? Join SolutionEnergy and get requests from homeowners and businesses →
Tell us about your project and we will connect you with a licensed, independent installer who serves the Utah County area. It is free, there is no obligation, and only the installer you choose gets your details. Read how it works.
Utah County energy questions
Does Provo have net metering?
Yes, but not one-for-one for newer systems. Provo’s documents credit exports at about 6.5 to 6.7¢ per kWh for customers who joined after October 2016, and any credits left are zeroed out each February. Ask Provo Power for today’s figure before you size a system.
What happens to extra solar credits in Lehi?
They carry forward month to month at your retail price, but any balance left at your March bill is zeroed out with no payment. Net metering is for systems up to 10 kW. Lehi’s separate purchase program instead pays a fixed 5¢ per kWh for 20 years for a small system’s whole output.
Which utility serves Orem and American Fork?
Rocky Mountain Power. That means its net billing, Wattsmart Battery incentive and time-of-use plan apply, not Provo’s or Lehi’s city rules. Your bill shows your utility; if you are near a city line, check it before you get solar quotes.
How long does a solar install take in Provo?
Provo says about three months from permit to new meter, not counting the installer’s own schedule: up to 30 business days for permit approval, then a city inspection, then Provo Power’s final inspection and meter.
Sources
EIA-861, 2024 data (price = residential revenue ÷ sales); Provo Power’s solar page, rate summary, Q&A, installation timeline and rebates page; Lehi City Power’s solar page, net metering policy and standards, feed-in tariff policy, permit checklist and rebates page; Orem and Utah County building pages; Rocky Mountain Power program pages; NASA POWER, 2001–2020; FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025; AFDC station data; CPSC. All read October 2026. Estimates are ours and labelled.