UTILITIES STRUGGLE WITH ROOFTOP SOLAR

Utilities fight rise in home solar power; Industry seeking hefty surcharges for consumers

Joby Warrick, March 15, 2015 (Washington Post via Boston Globe)

“…[The utility] industry and its fossil-fuel supporters are waging a determined campaign to stop a home-solar insurgency that is rattling the boardrooms of the country’s government-regulated electric monopolies…The campaign’s first phase — an industry push for state laws raising prices for solar customers — failed spectacularly in legislatures around the country, due in part to surprisingly strong support for solar energy from conservatives and evangelicals…More recently, the battle has shifted to public utility commissions, where industry backers have mounted a more successful push for fee hikes that could put solar panels out of reach for many potential customers…Industry officials say they support their customers’ right to generate electricity on their own property, but they say rooftop solar’s new popularity is creating a cost imbalance…Whether home-solar systems add significant costs to electric grids is the subject of intense debate. A [disputed Louisiana study written by fossil fuel lobbyists] last month concluded that solar roofs had resulted in cost shifts of more than $2 million that must be borne by Louisiana customers who lack solar panels…Other studies commissioned by state regulators in Nevada and Mississippi found that costs can be outweighed by benefits…” click here for more

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