[USA] CPUC lowers net metering rate for rooftop solar

On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved revised net metering rules that will reduce the rates paid to new rooftop solar customers.[1] California first adopted net energy metering (NEM) incentives more than 20 years ago, allowing 1.5 million customers to install solar panels. The CPUC first proposed revisions in December 2021 but shelved them based on stakeholder criticisms. Regulators said the newly approved net metering rules, which were initially released in November 2022, were designed to adapt the solar market to the changing grid. “[T]he electric grid is now powered largely by renewable systems, both large and small, and there are even moments when we need to curtail, meaning shut down, clean renewable generation because we have too much on the grid at once,” CPUC President Alice Reynolds said. According to the commission, the aim of the new rules is to shift the use of solar-generated power to the evening hours when demand rises, but solar generation ceases.

The previous NEM framework gave customers a credit at the retail rate for energy that they provide to the grid. The new framework, called net billing, includes a retail export compensation rate that is based on the value that behind-the-meter generation provides to the grid and electrification retail import rates that have high differentials between winter off-peak and summer on-peak rates. The intention is to encourage more customers to install solar paired with storage, which will draw energy during the day and dispatch it at night. Customers installing solar with storage will save about $136 a month on their electricity bill, compared to about only $100 for households with only solar panels. Current net metering customers will not be affected by the new rules.

[1] https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M499/K921/499921246.PDF

[USA] Florida legislature approves changes to net metering policies

On March 7, 2022, the Florida Senate voted 24-15 to approve House Bill (HB) 741, which would revise existing laws for net metering.[1] Net metering is a tool that gives rooftop solar owners a credit for excess energy that they produce and send back to the grid. The state House of Representatives passed the bill 83-31 earlier in March, so the bill now heads to the governor to be signed into law. HB 741 directs the Public Service Commission (PSC) to adopt a new program for rooftop solar owners by 2029 that would change net metering requirements and have solar owners pay the full cost of electric service instead of being "subsidized" by non-net metering customers. Under the bill, solar panel owners who sell energy back to the grid would be paid a flat retail rate. In addition, utilities will be allowed to recoup fees by petitioning the PSC to ensure “that the public utility covers the fixed costs of serving customers who engage in net metering.” If enacted, new net metering customers connected in 2024 and 2025 will receive credits worth 75% of the current rate. The rate will then decrease to 60% in 2026 and 50% in 2027. Public utility customers who get an application approved before 2029 will be able to lock in their rates for 20 years.

[1] https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/741

[USA] CPUC releases proposed rules for solar net metering

On December 13, 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a proposed decision to revise the current net energy metering (NEM) framework and replace it with a net billing tariff.[1] In 2016, the CPUC adopted the current NEM, which gives customers a credit at the retail rate for energy that they provide to the grid. However, the proposed decision determined that the current NEM "negatively impacts non-participating customers; is not cost-effective; and disproportionately harms low-income ratepayers." According to the agency, the new proposed decision would adopt more accurate price signals that will promote the higher installation of customer-sited storage, helping the state decrease its dependency on fossil fuels during the early evening hours when solar output is low but demand is high. Under the net billing tariff proposed by the CPUC, new solar owners will be compensated for their excess electricity sent to the grid using an avoided cost calculator, which is lower than the current incentives.

The CPUC also proposed creating a Market Transition Credit of up to $5.25 per kW for residential solar plus storage and solar-only systems. The credit would continue at this level for four years, after which it would begin to decline by 25% a year. The proposal would also put in place a monthly residential Grid Participation Charge of $8 per kW of installed solar. The proposed decision would also create an Equity Fund with up to $600 million to improve low-income customer access to distributed clean energy programs with strong consumer protections. The proposed decision is now open to public comments, and the proposal is on the CPUC’s agenda for January 27, 2021.

[1] https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M430/K903/430903088.PDF          

[USA] Duke Energy files net metering agreement with NC regulators

Duke Energy announced that it filed a net energy metering agreement[1] with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) on November 29, 2021.[2] The filing is an agreement that the utility reached with the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) — on behalf of Vote Solar and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy —, Sunrun Inc., and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Over the past three years, Duke has encouraged private solar ownership through its $62 million solar rebate program, which the utility expects to continue into 2023. According to the press release, 24,000 North Carolina customers have adopted private solar arrays compared to just 6,000 at the beginning of 2018. The North Carolina agreement also follows a similar net metering agreement filed in South Carolina in September 2020.

If the NCUC approves the filing, the agreement would allow for new net metering tariffs to go into effect for customers submitting applications on or after January 1, 2023. The agreement would also create new pricing and incentives for residential solar customers. Additionally, the filing features rate design mechanisms for collecting grid infrastructure costs needed to serve solar customers. It also includes innovative retail rates that vary based on the time of day and when the utility is experiencing peak demand.

[1] Net energy metering tariffs are a process that allows small customers that own rooftop solar arrays to gain credits for excess electricity they generate and provide to the utility (Duke Energy in this case) via the grid.

[2] https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/duke-energy-reaches-deal-with-renewable-organizations-to-modernize-rooftop-solar-policy-in-north-carolina

[USA] “SEIA Raises Concerns About Connecticut Plan to Kill Net Metering”

[SEIA, 8 May 2018]

Legislators in Connecticut have passed sweeping legislation, titled “An Act Concerning Connecticut’s Energy Future. The bill, which is awaiting approval from the Governor, addresses several different aspects of the state’s energy industry. For instance, the bill would increase the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 40% by 2030, but it would also – to the concern of many renewable industry experts- damage the state’s residential rooftop solar industry. In fact, Sean Gallagher, the Vice President of State Affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association, put out a statement voicing his concerns with the bill and the impact it would have on the solar industry. He stated that, “While we are in favor of legislation that genuinely advances solar energy, we have concerns about this bill. We support stronger renewable portfolio standards, yet it is not clear to what extent the bill would open significant large-scale or community solar markets. And importantly, any approach that doesn't also protect customer choice and provide for reasonable compensation for the value of customer-generated electricity is not acceptable.” As stated in the legislation text, the bill would sunset (or end) “the state's current net metering program for residential customers when the state's residential solar investment program expires, and for all other customers, when PURA [Public Utilities Regulatory Authority] approves the procurement plan for the new zero-emission, low-emission, and shared clean energy programs.”[1] 

[1] https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/BA/2018SB-00009-R01-BA.htm