Press Mention WCJB February 2, 2022
SACE Quoted
Net metering bill would lower home solar payments from utilities
In this mention
Florida State Sen. Jennifer Bradley sponsored a bill that would reduce net metering payments to rooftop solar homeowners, requiring utilities to pay only generation costs instead of retail rates. George Cavros of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy testified that utilities requesting rate increases never cited lost solar revenue as justification. Solar installers warn the legislation would eliminate thousands of jobs and devastate the rooftop solar industry.
The state's big three monopoly utilities last year requested rate increases from the Public Service Commission. Not one utility identified lost revenue from rooftop solar customers as a reason for the rate request.
George Cavros
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Full transcript
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCJB/CAP NEWS) - State Sen. Jennifer Bradley of Lake City sponsored a bill that would lower the amount rooftop solar homeowners are paid for their power.
Florida's investor-owned utilities want lawmakers to restructure what they are required to pay rooftop solar homeowners who sell excess power back to the companies. Currently, the utilities are required to pay retail for the power.
They are asking lawmakers to make the payments equal to what it costs the utilities to generate a kilowatt-hour, claiming customers with rooftop solar are being subsidized by those without solar.
George Cavros of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy told lawmakers that despite asking for hundreds of millions in higher rates, solar was never mentioned.
"The state's big three monopoly utilities last year requested rate increases from the Public Service Commission," said Cavros. "Not one utility identified lost revenue from rooftop solar customers as a reason for the rate request."
A companion bill was approved by the House Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee. It has two more committee stops in the house. Bradley's senate version will be heard next Tuesday in the Community Affairs Committee.
Florida House sponsor Rep. Lawrence McCure of Lakeland calls the current payments unfair, but said he is working on a compromise that will satisfy solar installers.
"This is in real time a mandate to take it in whether they need it or not," McClure said afterward. "So, we take that all into consideration. I pledged to committee members, my colleagues, and everyone in the industry, we're going to work on it."
Solar installation companies said the legislation would cost the state thousands of jobs and gut the rooftop solar industry. The investor-owned utilities were also behind a 2016 constitutional amendment that also would have put solar producers at a disadvantage. Voters turned it down.