SALT LAKE CITY – Solar advocates say a proposal by Rocky Mountain Power to reduce the amount paid to future rooftop solar owners for extra redundancy is a threat to the further development of renewable energy vacancy resources and would prevent additional investments by Utah customers.
The case is set to be heard this week after the Utility Public Service Commission completed a three-year cost benefit of the value of rooftop solar by the utility company.
Kate Bowman, manager of the Renewable Energy Release Program with Utah Clean Energy, said during a webinar on Friday that the action would determine the future of roof solar in Utah.
“Access to rooftop solar should be the choice people make and the choice they have.”
Rocky Mountain Power’s net-metering program began in 2008 with only 372 customers. By 2017, when it ended at a rate of return, there were 27,800 rooftop solar customers in the state. Since then it has grown to about 36,000 customers.
However, Bowman said commercial and residential solar accounts for only 2% of the 2nd mix in Utah, with plenty of room to grow.
After the completion of the traditional net-metering program, the transition program was implemented by Rocky Mountain Power in which it agreed to reduce the rate for new customers from 8% to 10% on the condition approved by the Utility Commission.
In this latest proposal, Rocky Mountain Power% seeks to reduce the rate of return for new solar customers, advocates said.
“We think we should pay market rates, not premier rates,” said spokesman Spencer Hathaway.
He added that the utility company’s recommendation to the Public Service Commission on the issue of consumer-generated electricity is to reduce costs by fixing the rate of Rocky Mountain power, which it believes is a fair return.
But Bowman strongly disagrees that it is “reasonable” and said the benefits of rooftop solar energy have been greatly underestimated by the utility company.
“If Rocky Mountain Power’s proposal is approved it sends a strong signal to potential solar customers that their orted rye exports to the grid are essentially useless,” Bowman said.
Sachu Constantane, managing director of regulatory affairs at Watt Solar, said the national organization focuses on solar power generation by more than 1,000,000 consumers in Utah and comes up with its own return rate.
Compared to the 1.5 cents rate of Rocky Mountain Power, 24 cents per kilowatt-hour, reflects the avoided costs such as additional infrastructure investment or loss of energy through the transmission line in the utility company as the roof solar energy is generated at the site. Additionally, the analysis takes into account weather benefits such as reduced carbon emissions and jobs created by the solar industry.
“This is about Chitya and allowing consumers to participate in the value of solar,” he said. Rocky Mountain Power stressed that such a low rate would discourage new investment in rooftop solar.
Constantane said the utility company’s proposal does not only reflect the impact of providing routertop solar, while Constantane said the group only seeks compensation at a net-metering rate, which was a direct return based on kilowatts per earnings, not a part of it.
Utah-owned Blue Raven Solar attorney Josh Neves said the future of Sarval Power will be decided based on what the Public Service Commission decides after Tuesday’s hearing.
After the net-metering rate expired in 2017, Neves said, many Utah solar companies closed their doors and relocated their business.
“The current Rocky Mountain Power proposal would easily be the most reactive rate restructuring in the country and would literally eliminate thousands of jobs in Utah.”
Hall said the export rate paid to rooftop solar customers is borne by other customers and does not affect the utility company’s earnings.
He added that the State Office of Consumer Affairs, which argued against the inequality of net metering for people not on the system, generally agreed with the reduction in rates.
Improvement: The previous version incorrectly said that the export rate affects the company’s earnings, but it should be said that it does not affect the revenue.
