WHY SOLAR SCARES UTILITIES

Utilities feel burned by solar-energy users

Dan Gearino, November 2, 2014 (Columbus Dispatch)

“…[Utilities] say their current rate structure doesn’t allow them to cover costs related to renewable-energy owners. The result, the companies say, is that the costs get passed on to other consumers… Jim Lazar, an electricity consultant in Washington state who advises regulators across the country…thinks the answer will vary depending on the political climate of each state…Utilities in most states are not yet feeling a pinch because of electricity generated by home-based systems. Fewer than 1 percent of U.S. households have renewable energy installed…

“But as solar-panel prices continue to drop and the systems become more popular, utility companies fear that electricity sales will take a sudden dive, depriving them of the money needed to maintain the grid for everyone else…Within the industry, this scenario is often called the ‘death spiral,’ a kind of doomsday for the regulated-utility business model…[U]tility companies and industry groups are proposing additional surcharges for solar owners…[and] arguing that wealthy solar owners receive subsidies that are unavailable to the many people who struggle to pay their electricity bills…Meanwhile, ‘green’ power advocates say utilities are standing in the way of progress toward an economy that relies less on large power plants…” click here for more

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