What Erie homeowners pay for power, what a roof here produces against it, and $0-down options if you qualify.
Erie sits in Erie County and is served by Penelec, at about 21.1¢ all-in — supply plus delivery plus riders, not the supply rate on its own. That is the number solar has to beat.
ZIP codes we serve here: 16501, 16502, 16505, 16506, 16509, 16510. If your ZIP is not listed it does not mean we cannot help — enter it above and it will tell you.
Every Pennsylvania utility buys wholesale power through PJM, which is why rates rose together on June 1 rather than one utility at a time. Pennsylvania offers 1:1 retail net metering, so your utility rate is also the value of every kilowatt-hour your roof exports.
Source: Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission filings, utility tariffs, PJM market data and U.S. Energy Information Administration figures, August 2026.
Erie averages 3.9 peak sun hours a day. A well-oriented kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1,138 kilowatt-hours a year here. A typical 9 kW system produces around 10,242 kWh annually. At Penelec’s rate of 21.1¢, that production is worth roughly $2,161 a year before any incentive.
Those are pre-shading numbers. Trees, roof pitch and orientation move them, which is why an installer looks at your specific roof rather than quoting from a city average.
The 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D ended for systems purchased after December 31, 2025. If you buy with cash or a loan in 2026, you cannot claim it. Any site still advertising a 30% federal credit for a homeowner purchase is running outdated information.
What remains is Section 48E, the commercial investment credit. It applies to third-party-owned systems — leases and power purchase agreements — where the system owner claims it rather than the homeowner. That is precisely what makes $0-down possible.
EnergyPros does not provide tax advice — confirm your situation with a tax professional.
Most of this area is served by that utility, but service territories do not follow city lines. Your bill names your utility at the top. If it does not match, enter your ZIP and we will match you to installers in your actual territory.
Under a lease or power purchase agreement, yes — the credit belongs to the system owner, which is what makes $0 down possible. For an outright purchase the math changed in 2026.
A lease or PPA transfers to the buyer at the same rate. An owned system simply conveys with the property.
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