Dive Brief:
- Rocky Mountain Power, a PacifiCorp utility, is asking Utah regulators to approve a $4.25/month fee for residential customers with solar panels on their roofs.
- As part of a rate case proposal, the utility also wants to increase residential minimum bills to $15/month from $7/month and double a customer charge to $8/month, moves that solar advocates say would hurt homeowners with solar.
- At the same time, Rocky Mountain Power is working on legislation that would require the PSC to set fees for customers with rooftop solar, according to solar advocates.
Dive Insight:
The net metering debate continues to spread. Arizona, California, Colorado and now Utah. So far, Utah hasn't jumped on the solar bandwagon. Only 1 MW was installed in 2012, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. It looks like Rocky Mountain Power wants to get a handle on the issue before it gets totally out of hand.
We wonder if Rocky Mountain Power has read the memo from the Edison Electric Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which reportedly is a sign of the new detente on net metering issues.
