Homeowners in Israel are expressing frustration over a new “systems cost” charge being imposed by Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) on rooftop solar energy panel owners. The charge, which had not been collected in recent years, is now being applied retroactively for the past two years, creating unexpected financial burdens for many.
The fee stems from a decision made by the Public Utilities Electricity Authority in March 2022, which mandated that households generating electricity from rooftop solar panels pay for “system management costs.” These costs, currently set at NIS 0.09 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumed, are intended to cover the services provided by IEC that enable ongoing electricity consumption, such as balancing demand and maintaining the correct system frequency. However, implementation was delayed because IEC needed to develop the necessary computer systems to calculate and collect these charges.
Since October 2025, IEC has begun demanding payment for these , including retroactive payments for the previous two years, which is the maximum allowed by law. For many homeowners, this has resulted in substantial bills. Naomi from Herzliya, for instance, paid NIS 181 for her monthly IEC system charges, on top of earning NIS 980 from electricity production and saving another NIS 1,400. With retroactive payments included, her total for two years is estimated at nearly NIS 2,200. IEC has offered the option to split these retroactive payments into 24 installments.
The introduction of the charge has caused surprise and frustration among homeowners because the costs were not transparent at the time of installing the solar panels. Naomi noted that the company that installed her panels did not make her aware of the future charges, as the fees were not being collected when the installation took place. This lack of clarity has left many homeowners feeling blindsided.
One of the challenges in applying this fee lies in determining how much of the electricity produced by a home system is actually consumed on-site. Most homes do not have production meters, which are expensive and cost thousands of shekels. As a result, IEC estimates domestic consumption based on a “normative production” for each month, which may not reflect actual usage. Naomi pointed out that her converter is larger than necessary and that some panels are not optimally oriented, meaning her real electricity consumption is lower than IEC’s calculations suggest. Consequently, she believes she is being overcharged.
The solar installation industry has also been unsettled by this decision. Adam Kromer, CEO of GreenDays, a company that compares solar installers, said many customers were surprised by the new charge when it appeared on their bills in October 2025. He emphasized that the charge was introduced without proper notice or clear explanations on how it was calculated. According to him, the updated tariff book for January 2026 revealed an increase of over 12% in the systems cost tariff, leaving both homeowners and solar companies scrambling to understand the new charges.
Despite these issues, IEC has not provided estimates of the annual income it expects to receive from these payments or how much it lost during the period it did not collect the fee. Homeowners and solar companies continue to call for greater transparency, clearer communication, and more accurate methods for calculating consumption, as the current system relies heavily on assumptions that may not align with actual production and usage.
With rooftop solar panels becoming mandatory for new homes with suitable roof sizes in cities over 30,000 residents, this debate over system cost charges highlights the growing tension between encouraging renewable energy adoption and ensuring fair billing practices. Homeowners, while benefiting from generous compensation for their solar energy production, are now navigating unexpected costs that threaten to complicate the financial attractiveness of rooftop solar investments.
Overall, the implementation of IEC’s systems cost charge underscores the need for clearer communication, more precise measurement, and transparent regulatory processes to ensure that the rapid expansion of rooftop solar in Israel remains both profitable and fair for consumers.
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