By Cassandra Sweet | The Wall Street Journal
Arizona residents who generate their own solar power will have to pay a small fee to an electric utility to cover the costs of maintaining the electric grid, state regulators decided Thursday.
The decision, by the Arizona Corporation Commission, comes after nearly four months of controversy and political mudslinging between the state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, and the solar industry. Arizona’s decision is likely to influence regulators in other states where residential solar installations are growing fast, experts said.
Both sides of the debate were disappointed with the result in Arizona, one of the biggest markets for rooftop panels. Solar supporters opposed any charge, while the utility wanted fees as high as $100 a month for households with rooftop solar installations—or a major change in the way it treats customers with solar capabilities.
