301 Moved Permanently

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U.S. Senators Stand Against Retroactive Rate Changes

U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Harry Reid, D-Nev., are trying to push forward an amendment aimed at protecting rooftop solar customers by limiting the ability of state agencies and utilities to retroactively change net-metering rates for existing customers. The two lawmakers want to add their provision to a broader energy bill the Senate has been debating, called the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015.

The senators’ Amendment 3120 comes as the debate over net metering continues in Nevada, Reid’s home state.

In December, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) slashed net-metering rates and added higher fees for solar customers, and the changes applied to customers who had already installed solar under the original rates. Although solar advocates have been pushing against retroactive enforcement of the new policies - and utility NV Energy has submitted a controversial grandfathering proposal - the PUCN has yet to take a final vote on grandfathering in existing solar customers at press time.

According to a synopsis of the King-Reid amendment, the provision would protect existing U.S. solar customers that already have net-metering deals with their utilities from “unjustified and abusive rate hikes and new fees.”

As proposed, the amendment would add language to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 stating, “Once an electric consumer has been offered and has accepted net-metering service … from an electric utility, the state regulatory authority with rate-making authority over the electric utility and the electric utility may not change the rate classification of the consumer unless the state regulatory authority or electric utility, as applicable, demonstrates, in an evidentiary hearing in a general rate case, that the current and future net benefits of the net-metered system to the distribution, transmission, and generation systems of the electric utility are less than the full retail rate.”

Furthermore, the amendment would make sure a state regulatory authority can’t impose a new or increased rate, such as a demand charge, on existing net-metering customers “unless the new or higher rate is also charged to all electric consumers in the same rate class of the electric utility.”

In a speech on the Senate floor, Reid underscored the benefits of net metering and the negative effects of attacks against such programs.

“Net-metering policies have been an incredible success,” he said. “Today, more than half-a-million American families and businesses have their own renewable energy systems - a 7,000 percent increase over 11 years ago. Producing clean energy at home is mainstream today.”

“Utilities are cheerleading anti-competitive measures that will cost families money and take away their opportunity to generate clean energy at home,” he remarked. “In Nevada, our utility proposed - I say utility because 95 percent of all electricity in Nevada is owned by one company - our big utility in Nevada proposed, and regulators recently agreed, to slash the value of rooftop solar for customers and imposed those changes retroactively.”

The senator called for support from his fellow legislators, declaring, “This amendment is good for consumers in Nevada and across the country. It will safeguard people who want to generate their own clean energy from retroactive rule changes that could devastate their finances.”

Also on the Senate floor, King defended the need for the amendment: “This amendment is really a modest one. It is not a takeover of the regulatory process.

“It simply urges and advocates that the state public utilities commissions take into account the positive factors of solar, as well as the costs, in order to reach a fair compensation agreement between utilities and their customers,” continued King. “This is the future. It is going to happen. The only question is whether it happens efficiently, fairly or by fighting. I would prefer the former. I think this is an important part of the future of this country, and we have an important role to play in this body.”

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has called for the Senate to include the King-Reid amendment in the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015.

“We urge the Senate to adopt the King-Reid amendment and end a practice that subjects hardworking families and businesses who have invested in solar to potentially abusive rate hikes and new fees from monopoly utility companies,” says Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA, in a statement. “By blocking this amendment, utilities are trying to take away consumers’ ability to make their own energy decisions.”

The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), a coalition of rooftop solar installers focused on net-metering policies, has also chimed in.

Evan Dube, director of public policy for Sunrun and spokesperson for TASC, says in a press release, “We applaud Senators King and Reid for introducing legislation that protects consumer choice and free market competition.”

Although the Senate was expected to wrap up the debate on the Energy Policy Modernization Act and its amendments in early February, progress halted on Feb. 4; Democrats blocked the legislation from moving forward amid a partisan feud with Republicans over aid funding for the water-contamination crisis in Flint, Mich. At press time, this puts the future of the overall energy bill in question, but according to multiple reports, at least some Senate leaders appear determined to reach a compromise. - Joseph Bebon

 

N.H. Installer Cuts Jobs While Lawmakers Grapple With Net-Metering Cap

The controversy in Nevada is making headlines - and rightfully so - but solar companies in that state aren’t the only ones suffering from uncertainty regarding net-metering policies. In New Hampshire, another legislative storm is brewing.

SunRay Solar, a Concord, N.H.-based solar installer, recently announced that it was “forced” to curtail its operations and lay off nine employees due to the state’s current net-metering rules.

Michael Fay, managing partner of SunRay Solar, says the nine employees accounted for one-third of the company’s workforce, and although that might seem like a small number to some, every job counts. In addition, SunRay planned to add 20 more workers, but Fay says, “That won’t be happening anymore.”

According to him, the layoffs are a direct result of local utilities’ reaching their state-mandated net-metering caps, and these job cuts came after Eversource, New Hampshire’s largest energy provider, announced that it hit its limit on Jan. 20.

Fay says net metering “absolutely” makes solar a much easier sell to potential customers, so the end of such programs can be devastating for installers.

As Eversource spokesperson Lauren Collins explains, the current 50 MW cap for the state’s utilities was established in 2010, and Eversource’s share was 36 MW. The state’s net-metering program covers all types of renewable energy, but Collins notes, “the vast majority” of participating projects were solar, “including individual and group host solar projects.”

Now, Eversource is putting new projects on a waiting list while legislators figure out what comes next.

The brightest sign of hope is S.B.333, a bill that would increase the state’s net-metering cap 25 MW from the current 50 MW to 75 MW. State Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, who sponsored the bill and chairs the energy and natural resources committee, says in a recent press release, “Removing the cap will not only encourage expanded energy diversity and use of renewable energy resources by homeowners, but will encourage growth in the solar and renewable energy industry in our state, as well.”

However, Bradley continues, “While there are benefits of increasing this cap, we need to make sure that in a region with some of the highest energy costs in the nation, energy customers who do not take advantage of residential solar are not burdened by high electric rates due to renewable energy subsidies. This bill offers a realistic compromise that will keep rates in check for both regular ratepayers and renewable energy customers.”

S.B.333 seems to be gaining support from legislators and solar industry stakeholders alike. Eversource, for one, says it is working with lawmakers to help the bill progress.

“Eversource supports S.B.333 because it will allow the continued development of renewable energy projects while policymakers and regulators consider a long-term solution,” says Collins.

As for a potential long-term fix, she says Eversource believes the solution “should first address the fundamental question of whether or not such energy projects continue to require subsidies. While eliminating the cap may be advantageous for certain solar business models, Eversource is looking toward a solution that protects all of our customers.”

Meanwhile, Collins points out, “Approved projects on the net-metering wait list can still interconnect and begin operation and will receive a credit or payment based on the hourly ISO-NE energy market price. Should S.B.333 pass, the Public Utilities Commission will be directed to determine an appropriate reimbursement rate.”

On the other side of the grid, northern New England solar installer ReVision Energy says it continues its commitment to the New Hampshire market and supports S.B.333.

Dan Clapp, managing partner of ReVision Energy’s New Hampshire operations, remarks, “We have an excellent workforce based here, and we expect to continue to grow once our state’s solar policy is modernized.”

In a press release, the company notes that although it remains optimistic, “the uncertainty about net metering must be resolved expeditiously by the N.H. legislature if the solar industry is to continue to thrive in New Hampshire. In the meantime, potential solar customers can still file to interconnect with the utility but under rates less favorable than retail net metering.”

ReVision Energy says its workforce in New Hampshire almost doubled in 2015, and the company expects to double it again, “assuming the net-metering cap is raised.”

SunRay Solar’s Fay admits the additional 25 MW raise would likely keep SunRay Solar interconnecting projects and his company alive for a while longer: “We would hire back tomorrow everyone we laid off with good, positive legislation that created certainty for the local solar industry and customers.”

He argues that S.B.333 is “only kicking the can down the road,” though, and Fay is pushing for a much larger cap increase now, not later.

Nonetheless, he warns that if S.B.333 doesn’t pass, “solar would die in New Hampshire.” - Joseph Bebon

 

Alberta Government Funds New Solar Programs

As part of its Climate Leadership Plan, the Alberta government has announced it is investing more than C$5 million (approximately $3.6 million) to help municipalities and farmers go solar.

The Municipal Climate Change Action Center is receiving the money for a solar energy incentive program, the Alberta Municipal Solar Program. The program will provide rebates of up to C$0.75 per watt, to a maximum of C$300,000 per project, to municipalities for installing solar on municipal buildings, such as offices, fire halls, community centers and more.

Furthermore, a new solar program for agricultural producers, On-Farm Solar Management, will provide C$500,000 in provincial and federal funding toward solar energy systems on Alberta farms. The Alberta government says the program will help producers generate their own electricity and reduce their carbon emissions.

“We must take action at all levels in combating climate change - federally, provincially and locally,” says Shannon Phillips, Alberta’s minister of environment and parks. “This investment will spur economic growth and help with the transition to cleaner sources of electricity, which will protect our health.”

Oneil Carlier, the province’s minister of agriculture and forestry, adds, “Agricultural producers embrace innovation and are good stewards of the land. The solar installation program will help increase farming efficiencies, reduce power bills and greenhouse-gas emissions, and add to Alberta’s power grid.”