What are the city's solar rules for a Colton home?

If you’re buying a Colton home with solar, or planning panels for a home you own, start with the City’s electric utility. Its Solar Program page sets a firm sizing limit: the system’s annual output cannot exceed the home’s actual electricity use over the past 12 months. A plan for higher future use doesn’t create an exception.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Why do the City’s solar rules matter?

The City of Colton Electric Utility operates its own electrical infrastructure within the city, so its solar requirements belong in your purchase or installation checks.

The City’s Electric Utility Information page says the utility was established in 1887 and is the oldest founded utility in San Bernardino County. It owns and operates a power plant, five substations, and the transmission and distribution lines within the city boundaries.

That makes identifying the utility a useful first step before discussing panels, credits or applications. The City’s page describes its utility serving customers within the city; use the property’s electric records to confirm the account you’re reviewing.

The same starting question appears in the guide to buying a home served by Banning’s electric utility: who supplies the electricity? For a Colton property, bring the City’s own solar page into the conversation.

How large can your solar system be?

Your system’s annual output in kilowatt-hours cannot exceed the home’s actual kWh consumption over the past 12 months.

The Solar Program page says the City allows no oversizing and no exceptions. Start with electricity use, then consider system size. A proposal based on an addition, a pool or an EV still needs to be checked against the home’s past use.

You can add the kWh shown on the last 12 months of electric bills. The page also offers an online form to request consumption information and says the completed information will be submitted to the customer within 3 business days. That is the stated timing for consumption information, not a solar approval timeline.

Keep the consumption record with the system proposal. It gives you something concrete to compare with the proposed annual output, instead of relying on a description of how many panels will fit on the roof.

What if you don’t have a full consumption history?

Without a full 12 months of consumption history, the page gives a maximum approved size of 2 watts per square foot.

The City’s example is a 1,500 square foot home with a 3,000-watt system, also called a 3kW system. That example explains the fallback sizing rule. It doesn’t replace the consumption limit where the full history is available.

The page also says the City will accept California Energy Commission approved building simulation compliance programs, including CBECC and Energy Pro, for system sizing under Title 24 requirements instead of the 2 watts per square foot approach. Those reports must accompany the PowerClerk application.

What does the installation application require?

The City’s page directs residents to PowerClerk for residential solar systems of 10kW and smaller and requires specific equipment for every solar installation.

The equipment requirement is a Production Meter and two AC Disconnects. Ask where those items appear in the proposed installation. For a home that already has solar, ask the seller to identify the production meter location and provide the City’s approval records.

If the installation requires a panel upgrade, the page says it must follow the City’s Service Panel Upgrade Requirements and include a Load Questionnaire. Both documents are linked from the solar page. Ask the advisor about a possible upgrade early, and check those documents before treating the proposal as ready.

The page states that, as of March 2021, the City collects a $225.00 solar review charge, payable before receiving an installation permit. Neither source page shows an update date, so the amount’s status after that statement is uncertain; confirm the charge before budgeting.

Appointments are required to meet with the Solar Energy Advisor before installing solar. The page directs you to arrange an appointment by email.

I spoke with a Colton homeowner who wanted to expand an older solar system when he replaced the roof. He assumed the original solar approval would cover the new panels and equipment. We checked the current city requirements because modifying an existing system can still involve plans, permits and an updated electrical review.

How do net metering and the June payment work?

As the City’s page read on 30 October 2026, Colton described current net metering as a one for one kWh credit, with surplus banked on the customer’s account.

Keep the credit and the annual payment distinct when reviewing the seller’s records or an installation proposal. The page describes the consumption credit in kWh. It then describes a payment for kWh left in the account bank at true-up.

The City completes solar true-ups at the end of each June. At that point, the page says remaining banked energy receives an avoided cost payment of $0.04 per kWh.

Ask for the seller’s last June true-up statement and compare it with the electric bills. Those records help you see how the account has used credits and what remained at true-up. They don’t answer what happens to that bank when ownership changes. The page also uses “currently” when describing net metering; it does not promise that the policy will continue.

What should you check when buying or selling?

Check the seller’s solar documents and ask the Electric Department what happens to the system, its approval and any banked credits when the home sells.

The City’s pages do not explain those sale questions. Don’t treat the presence of panels or a seller’s credit balance as an answer about the buyer’s account. The Electric Department landing page lists 909-370-5104 as its contact number.

For an existing installation, ask for:

• The City’s solar approval records.
• The production meter location and the 12-month use used for sizing.
• The seller’s last June true-up statement.

Read those records alongside the other property information covered in the California seller disclosure guide. If a solar lease is part of the sale, the guide to selling a house with a solar lease in California is another useful place to frame your document review.

A seller can gather these records before a buyer asks. Keep questions about the utility account directed to the Electric Department.

Will panels work in an outage, and does the City offer rebates?

The City’s page says the solar system will not work during a power outage and that the City does not offer rebates for installing panels.

It also says battery storage is not required to operate a solar system and describes an outage as the circumstance in which battery storage helps. If outage operation matters to your plans, ask about the proposed equipment rather than assuming panels alone provide it.

The page says the City will not change your rate because you install solar. It does not give current electricity rates in the solar discussion.

Choosing and maintaining the equipment remain separate questions. The City says it cannot recommend a solar vendor, and the property owner must do their own research. It does not install, service or maintain solar panels.

The short version

Colton’s solar page ties system size to past electricity use, requires a Production Meter and two AC Disconnects, and describes current net metering with a June true-up.

Before installing, gather the consumption history and check the application requirements. Before buying or selling, collect the approval and billing records, then ask the Electric Department about the ownership change.

For a starting point on the property’s value, use the home value tool.