Public Service Commission to hold workshop on solar net metering

By Bruce Ritchie 7/29/20

Public Service Commission to hold workshop on solar net metering

The Public Service Commission on Tuesday agreed to hold one or more workshops before October on rooftop solar and a state requirement that utilities pay customers for the power they produce.

What happened?: PSC Chair Gary Clark said during a commission meeting that the "contentious" issue of solar net metering should be thoroughly analyzed.

He cited exponential growth in renewable energy as reason to examine state law and commission rules that require utilities to pay customers for the energy produced by rooftop solar panels.

"We see the amount of subsidy that continues to be added into the rate base for this particular product. And I want to make sure that we are at least analyzing, taking a look at that," Clark said.

What's the backstory?: Industry groups claim that if utilities are forced to pay rooftop solar owners for the energy they produce, other customers will have to pay more to cover the cost of maintaining the electric grid. Supporters of net metering say individually owned solar panels provide clean power and can offset the need for new power plants.

The PSC in May voted to intervene in a net metering case before the FERC.

The New England Ratepayers Association last month asked the FERC to take regulatory control over net metering nationwide. The federal panel dismissed the petition earlier this month.

Clark on Tuesday said he had discussed with state Rep. Lawrence McClure (R-Dover) a letter McClure sent to the PSC chair in May claiming that customers of Florida's biggest electric utilities pay $40 million a year to subsidize rooftop solar.

Clark echoed McClure's concerns.

"We may continue to choose to do that [net metering] in the future," Clark said. "But I want us to do it with eyes wide open, understanding exactly what those costs are and how this is benefiting the system."

McClure's letter cited a January report by the non-profit group Energy Fairness that called on Florida to update its net metering policies.

Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a regional environmental group that often challenges utilities, said other studies show benefits from rooftop solar and that any subsidy that might exist is minimal.

"Maybe in 15 years from now, if the growth continues, this might be an interesting conversation to have," Smith said in an interview. "But in the near term this is not a broken system that needs intervention by the Public Service Commission or the heavy hand of the monopoly utilities trying to manipulate customer choice."

What's next?: The commission will schedule workshops and will open a docket if it moves toward rulemaking.