Dive Brief:

• Rocky Mountain Power has filed for a $4.25 flat fee to be added to the bills of customers who also own rooftop solar as part of its Utah rate case.
• The fee is designed to cover the costs of maintaining the grid, which rooftop solar customers still largely rely on.
• Rocky Mountain Power has about 2,000 customers with rooftop solar system. A study by the utility found residential customers with solar use about 100 KWh less electricity than typical residential customers. 

Dive Insight:

Solar advocates and consumer groups have already stated their opposition to the fee. Because the fee is a flat monthly fee, depending on the size of a customer's solar installation, the fee could have a bigger impact on some customers, especially those with small solar arrays who often use grid power in tandem with their own generation.

"Depending on the size of their system, it could be 10% or even more because some people only put in four or five panels and this is a flat fee," said Mike Rossetti of Utah Citizens Advocating Renewable Energy. Rossetti indicated the utility wants the fee to cover lost revenues.

Rocky Mountain Power disagreed. "It’s important to emphasize that this is all about rate design; it doesn’t result in more revenue for the company, it doesn’t result in more profit," spokesman David Eskelen said.