Idaho regulators call for new rooftop solar rates
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) has decided Idaho Power Company’s current net-metering classification should be closed in favor of two new classes of customers, residential and small general service. The first would be for customers with standard electric service and the second for customers with on-site generation, like solar arrays.
The Commission also directed Idaho Power to initiate a comprehensive study of the costs and benefits of net metering on Idaho Power’s system.
The IPUC also encouraged the utility to collaborate with commission staff and customers to determine proper rates, rate design, and compensation for excess generation. The commission said it hoped to facilitate analysis and creativity in developing rate structures.
The Idaho Chapter of the Sierra Club, a clean-energy advocate, called the decision “poor public policy.”
“Idaho is now the only state in the nation to force utility customers who generate their own electricity into a separate rate class without first completing basic studies to show the changes are justified,” said Chapter Director Zack Waterman. “If a fair study determines that Idaho Power is overcompensating customers for electricity they export to the grid, it may be appropriate to change those rates. However, whatever the customer does behind the meter to offset their own consumption, including efficiencies or demand response, should be their business. Customers who take their energy needs into their own hands should not be forced to pay more for the electricity they purchase or foot a more expensive monthly fixed charge.”
The number of net-metering customers on Idaho Power’s system is relatively small with fewer than 1,500 customers out of 535,000 total, as of June 2017. Idaho Power believes the increasing affordability of on-site generation would lead to surges in participation.
You can find information about the Public Utilities Commission decision-making process here.
And, you can find out more about the Sierra Club’s opinion here.
