Oklahoma Charges through the Nose: Solar Success Attracts Fees

[gregvet]

In our county in Colorado, our electric has always assessed a monthly service charge regardless of whether you have a GT renewable energy source or not. This fee is same as anyone who has electrical service from our co-op. Even in months if you generate enough to offset your kWh consumed, you still have to pay this monthly fee (about $1.00/day)

[Ian S]

I question the correctness of the first sentence above. I think AB 327 in CA allows a monthly charge to be added to residential bills. That was signed into law before the OK legislation.

Arizona also instituted a monthly fee that took effect in January. However, it was only for new residential solar customers. Commercial solar customers were unaffected and perhaps therein lies the difference: OK's fee appears to apply to all solar customers.

[J.P.M.]

Last Monday, Oklahoma became the first state to pass a bill charging residential and other solar power users with grid-tied solar and wind power installations a monthly fee. The amount of the fee, yet to be determined, is backed by utility companies, which argue that net metering allows users to ignore the fixed costs of maintaining the power grid, forcing rates to go up for other users. Thinkprogress.org reported that while clean energy advocates had strongly opposed the bill, it was added into the draft bill late in the process, preventing opponents from mobilizing effectively. While Oklahoma was one battleground, other state-level fights are also beginning to occur. The conservative think tank Americans For Prosperity (AFP) has drafted "model legislation" on solar energy. While most of the utilities are themselves not strongly against solar energy, many in the fossil fuel sector are beginning to see it as a real threat and are acting to undermine solar industry growth. With the two-fold goal of rolling back state laws as well as undermining incentives to go solar, these new attacks are the opening salvos of what will likely be a contentious battle over how the solar industry will work. While solar has been largely uncontroversial until now, industry growth has pushed solar energy into the limelight. Battles over state-level solar legislation are the opening salvos in what is likely to be an ongoing question of solar policy for years to come.

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I question the correctness of the first sentence above. I think AB 327 in CA allows a monthly charge to be added to residential bills. That was signed into law before the OK legislation.

[Sunking]

Last Monday, Oklahoma became the first state to pass a bill charging residential and other solar power users with grid-tied solar and wind power installations a monthly fee. The amount of the fee, yet to be determined, is backed by utility companies, which argue that net metering allows users to ignore the fixed costs of maintaining the power grid, forcing rates to go up for other users.

Well DUH!! Every state that has net metering is allowed to jack the rates up on everyone to make up for the losses. It is a hidden tax shielded from the public eye.

[Jason]

Last Monday, Oklahoma became the first state to pass a bill charging residential and other solar power users with grid-tied solar and wind power installations a monthly fee. The amount of the fee, yet to be determined, is backed by utility companies, which argue that net metering allows users to ignore the fixed costs of maintaining the power grid, forcing rates to go up for other users. Thinkprogress.org reported that while clean energy advocates had strongly opposed the bill, it was added into the draft bill late in the process, preventing opponents from mobilizing effectively. While Oklahoma was one battleground, other state-level fights are also beginning to occur. The conservative think tank Americans For Prosperity (AFP) has drafted "model legislation" on solar energy. While most of the utilities are themselves not strongly against solar energy, many in the fossil fuel sector are beginning to see it as a real threat and are acting to undermine solar industry growth. With the two-fold goal of rolling back state laws as well as undermining incentives to go solar, these new attacks are the opening salvos of what will likely be a contentious battle over how the solar industry will work. While solar has been largely uncontroversial until now, industry growth has pushed solar energy into the limelight. Battles over state-level solar legislation are the opening salvos in what is likely to be an ongoing question of solar policy for years to come.

More...