Big Solar Fight Breaks Out Between Utilities, Homeowners

[Purveyor]

By Elizabeth MacDonaldPublished November 09, 2015

It's a closely watched fight with broad implications for the solar industry and the push by the Administration to go green.

An Arizona utility that generates and distributes electric power in one of the country’s sun-drenched areas has asked the state’s Corporation Commission for assistance in its fight with homeowners who have installed their own solar power panels, typically on house rooftops.


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Tucson Electric Power Co. asked the agency, which sets utility rates, to let it double its basic monthly service charge for residential customers, from $10 to $20 per month, as well as assess new fees, penalties, and charges on rooftop solar customers. A study done by the utility says that customers with solar panels, on average, shift $67 a month in costs to non-solar customers because they pay less for grid upkeep.

The fight has the potential to go to the courts and set standards nationwide, with environmentalists like the Sierra Club arguing solar homeowners should be able to take a free ride on a utilities' network, while the Arizona utility argues those without solar panels will have to pay for that crowd with rate increases.

Tucson Electric Power “is singling out solar customers with their proposal to increase fees - which is not only wrong, but unprecedented,” said Chad Waits, president and owner of Net Zero Solar, in a statement. “Rural customers don’t have to pay more to be connected to the grid, yet the infrastructure to take power to them costs exponentially more per customer. Winter visitors don’t have to pay more to be connected to the grid, yet their houses use minimal amounts of power while they are away during the summer.”

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http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2015/11/09/big-solar-fight-breaks-out-between-utilities-homeowners/?cmpid=edpick&google_editors_picks=true

[msongs]

1. solar panelists should pay less. competition don't ya know. take it out of the stockholders dividend

and ceo pay

[ruffburr]

2. Poor little electric company-

What a Crock of B.S., Guess what, The days of fossil fuels are coming to an end now, Get used to it Power companies and oil corporations! The Sun light cannot be metered!

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Well,what do you expect from the Tea Billie

Arizona Legislature and their so called Politicians. Fossil Fuels have a strangle hold on Arizona and Nevada as well as Utah. We see more of these so called fees coming our way in January as a push back from Nevada Light and Power. Nothing more than a PR stunt to piss off the customers saying it is because of the Solar Panels. When you have the Media afraid of asking the hard questions of the why where and what. These Power Companies will ram it up your butt,because of the sheeple affect.

[MuseRider]

4. They pulled that crap here too

and we had a nice rally, went to the electric company and they stopped saying that and they dropped the increase they were asking for.

Oddly we won this time!

I love my solar panels.

[packman]

5. Reminds me of the old days of energy conservation

Back in the 70's and was living in Washington , D.C. area. Energy costs soared and the local power company, PEPCO (Potomac Electric and Power) was feeling the pressure with people bitching about their bills. So , being the kind hearted and community oriented energy company that they wanted to be they had a public relation blitz . They would educate the public on how to reduce their electric bills. There was a huge push to save energy - tax breaks, ads on insulation, solar heating and cooling, insulated windows, etc. The power company was pushing it, believe it or not. They would even send someone to your house to make recommendations and would gave you coupons on buying energy efficient appliances.

The D.C. area embraced it and sure enough the next thing you know PEPCO was losing money and sure enough, it was before the regulation boards asking for a rate increase to cover their lost revenue.

[That Guy 888]

6. Help them make their distribution system into a smart grid , but not what the utilities want

They probably just want more profit while providing nothing like most monopolies.

I think it's smart grids, where excess individually generated power (like from rooftop solar power) is metered in as a credit and adds power to the grid. I would think gathering in that excess solar power would give them some sort of credit for clean power generation even if it were just good pr.

[cprise]

7. The cost of batteries are plummeting

So renewable power generation will become smarter one way or another. If utilities refuse to see the plus side of having residential generators on their grid, then more and more people will go off-grid! Then connected rate payers will still have the higher maint. costs without the benefits of solar from those former rate payers.

If they really are that stupid, this will end with the utilities trying to make off-grid residences illegal.

[Javaman]

8. this is BS.

I have panels here in Austin. We don't use close to all the energy we generate. The excess goes to my surrounding neighbors.

so thinking that the electric company does not benefit from the free power they get from solar owners is just complete bullshit.

while I generate "free" power, my neighbors still have to pay for it.

amusing really, since I paid for the panels and the city gets the cash return.

this has always been a thorn in my side.