“I’m hoping the net-metered rates stay up where they compensate homeowners for their investment. The payoff rate is about 20 years,” he said in an interview. Investing in solar panels would have no financial upside if the commission approves Rocky Mountain Power’s proposal, according to Johnson. “At the end of the day, we want the same thing: more energy captured from the sun instead of released by burning carbon.” “There should be some middle ground where the utility doesn’t get overcharged for rooftop generation, but where the consumer doesn’t get undercharged either,” he wrote. One came from Evan Johnson, a Salt Lake City software developer, who is weighing whether to spend the $10,000 to $20,000 it would take to install photovoltaics on his home. In recent weeks, public comments have flooded the PSC, most favoring a higher export credit. The credit would be higher during peak-use periods and lower when electrical demand is low. The utility’s proposed credit ranges from 1.3 to 2.7 cents, depending on the time of day and time of year. “Asking those customers to pay more than is reasonably justified in order to support a single sector of the economy is, by definition, a violation of the public interest.” Solar advocates “continue to focus on the impact to a single industry without consideration for the impacts their proposal will have on the other industries and jobs that rely on affordable electric rates,” Steward wrote. In other words, she argued, the utility’s proposal is not borne of self-interest, as solar advocates allege, but rather public interest. The export credit paid to “customer generators” is borne by other customers, and the rate has no impact on Rocky Mountain Power’s earnings. Its proposal is designed to minimize the shifting of solar customers' share of the grid’s fixed cost to other ratepayers, according to written testimony submitted by Joelle Steward, the utility’s vice president for regulation. It its filings to the PSC, Rocky Mountain Power says the current credit is “unsustainable, not lowest cost, and shifts costs to other customers.” Under the current credit structure, that homeowner would see an annual credit of $480, but only $78 under the utility’s proposal. That exported power, for which the utility provided credits worth up $20 million, represents less than 1% of the utility’s sales that year, which totaled 23.7 billion kilowatt-hours.Ī typical 7-kilowatt residential installation in Salt Lake City generates 10,450 kWh per year, about half of which would be exported from the home. When the sun’s rays are not available, these homeowners rely on electricity supplied by the power company that they purchase with the credits they earn from piping their excess power into the grid.īut RMP argues it can buy or generate this power at far lower prices, so it insists on a sliding rate that averages 1.5 cents per kWh.Īccording to an analysis by the advocacy group Vote Solar, RMP’s solar customers generated a total of 406 million kWh in 2019, of which 235 million were exported into the grid. A generous credit is key to continued expansion of emission-free renewable energy, because it would give homeowners a financial incentive to invest in rooftop photovoltaic panels, advocates say. Utah Clean Energy and its allies are asking for a rate of 12 cents per kWh locked in for 20 years. And that means many solar customers will never realize any savings over the life of their panels.” “It would take up to 25 years, potentially longer, to pay back the upfront investment in solar panels. “If Rocky Mountain Power’s proposal is approved, it sends a strong signal to prospective solar customers that their energy exported to the grid is essentially worthless,” she said. That’s 2% of the utility’s customers, indicating there is plenty of opportunity for growth in a business sector that employs 7,000 people in Utah, Bowman said. The utility’s proposal ignores numerous benefits “distributed” power generation provides the utility in addition to avoided fuel costs, such as reduced line losses and reduced grid upkeep, according to Kate Bowman of Utah Clean Energy.Ĭurrently, 40,000 homes and businesses are pumping rooftop-generated power into the RMP grid. Rocky Mountain Power, Utah’s largest utility, is seeking an 84% reduction, while solar advocates are pressing for an increase over the current export credit of 9.2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), or 90% of the utility’s average residential retail rate. The three-member PSC panel is weighing competing proposals for the amount Utah electrical-utility customers are to be credited for excess solar power they export into the grid for their neighbors to use. A two-week hearing starting Tuesday before the Utah Public Service Commission could result in a “make-or-break” ruling for the rooftop solar industry in one of the nation’s sunniest states.
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