The Wall Street Journal
(Editor’s note: Posting opinion pieces does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rose Law Group.)
Trying to cut corporate welfare can sometimes blow the same political fuses as trimming food stamps. Consider the recent flap in Arizona over scaling back the solar industry’s state subsidy scheme.
Last week the Arizona Corporation Commission agreed to maintain with minor adjustment the state’s net-metering program, which compensates customers with solar panels for the excess electricity they generate and export to the transmission grid. The case represents a big political victory for the solar kingpins and could deter changes in 42 other states with similar programs.
Net metering may be publicly popular, but it is bad policy. Start with the fact that solar customers are compensated for their unused power at the retail rate, which is two to three times the wholesale price that utilities pay other generators. Arizona residents with net metering can shave their electric bills by two-thirds, or roughly $120 per month. This is a backdoor subsidy for solar power but not for you and your neighbors.
If you’d like to discuss energy issues, contact Court Rich, director of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Department at crich@roselawgroup.com
