Local and national coverage below (Also available in separate posts)
By Ryan Randazzo | The Republic | azcentral.com
The state’s rapidly growing solar industry suffered a setback Thursday when the Arizona Corporation Commission narrowly voted to impose an average $5 monthly fee on new
The 3-2 vote was a blow to the industry, which says it will make solar less affordable for people, and a disappointment to Arizona Public Service Co., which had sought higher fees to prevent non-solar customers from subsidizing solar users.
But both sides also found small victories in the vote, which capped a months-long debate watched with intense interest nationally. The solar industry said it was a victory that the utility got only a fraction of its request. APS said it was a victory that regulators acknowledged that solar customers shift power costs to non-solar customers, which many utilities nationwide are seeking to prove.
The Borg and APS
Ahwatukee Foothills Magazine
Following a slapdown by the Arizona Corporation Commission, maybe now Arizona Public Service is feeling the cost of being a slow-to-innovate dinosaur, and maybe it will adjust its thinking and attitude.
The monopoly utility reminds one of The Borg. The Borg lost in Star Trek and APS lost here because of an ancient, egotistic mindset. Corporation Commissioner Bob Burns said it best when he counseled APS to evaluate its business model to address the incredible innovations like solar and other emerging technologies.
APS is Kodak before digital cameras. It’s Xerox before the Internet. It is fax machines, it is flip phones, encyclopedias, phone booths, cursive handwriting, snail mail, and roll-down car windows.
And it is still in denial about what happened yesterday but more on that later.
Arizona sets precedent for solar systems with new monthly fee
By Nichola Groom | Reuters
Arizona on Thursday dealt a blow to the state’s largest utility by approving a monthly fee on customers with solar panels that Arizona Public Service said was not enough to offset the costs that those rooftop systems have heaped on its remaining ratepayers.
The measure, approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission in a 3-2 vote, was intended to serve as a compromise between APS and the solar industry, which had fought to stop the utility’s efforts to change a solar incentive that has buttressed the rapid growth of rooftop systems in one of the nation’s sunniest states.
The fee of 70 cents per kilowatt would equate to about $5 a month for the average solar customer in Arizona – an amount the solar companies at the hearing said they could live with. The charge will only apply to customers who install solar systems after December 31 of this year, meaning the 20,000 APS customers who already have solar panels will not see changes to their bills.
NYT: Compromise in Arizona defers a solar power fight
By Diane Cardwell | The New York Times
In voting to impose a modest charge on new residential solar customers, Arizona’s power regulators have ended, for the moment, a bitter fight between the rooftop solar industry and the state’s main electric utility.
The closely watched decision, which came late Thursday after months of increasingly heated debate from both sides, preserves a credit system that has been a powerful incentive in attracting solar customers and adds less compensation than the utility, Arizona Public Service, had sought.
The compromise on the system, which is known as net metering — it credits residential and commercial customers for excess renewable energy they send back to the grid — allows it to continue. But it sets up a future battle over the value of decentralized solar power that will play out across the country.
More than 40 states offer some form of the incentive, according to the Energy Department, and the credit programs are under scrutiny in nearly all of them, advocates say.
ACC moves forward with modified net metering plan
By Patrick O’Grady | Phoenix Business Journal
The Arizona Corporation Commission modified the state’s net metering plan in a move that will costs solar customers a little money every month, but not nearly as much as Arizona Public Service Co. wanted. Commissioners voted 3-2 to charge solar customers 70 cents per kilowatt of installed solar on their homes every month to help defray some costs non-solar customers. That means a house with a 5-kilowatt system would pay $3.50 per month on their bill. The move had both sides declaring a win.
Energy regulators approve small solar surcharge
By Luige del Puerto and Evan Wyloge | Arizona Capitol Times
In a blow to Arizona Public Service, energy regulators agreed a few minutes ago to a compromise proposal charging users of solar rooftop panels with a fixed fee of 70 cents per kilowatt hour.
The new charge, which will begin next year, is only a fraction of what Arizona Public Service sought – which was to reduce savings from the solar incentive by roughly half.
The decision was reached after a two-day deliberation that capped a months-long expensive campaign by Arizona’s biggest utility company to reduce a key subsidy for residential solar.
As adopted, the resolution comes out to a monthly surcharge of $7 for a 10 kilowatt residential solar system, and roughly $5 for the more typical 7 kilowatt system.
Arizona regulators adopt $5 monthly solar fee
PHOENIX (AP) – Arizona regulators on Thursday voted to adopt a roughly $5 monthly fee for customers of the state’s largest utility who install rooftop solar panels in a move that had the solar industry declaring victory over what it saw as an effort to topple its business.
The Arizona Corporation Commission’s vote came after two days of talks and testimony from citizens and representatives on both sides of the issue as Arizona Public Service sought a monthly rate increase for solar customers of $50 to $100.
The commission’s decision was being watched by utilities nationwide. Utilities in other states have been pushing similar arguments and seeking the same sorts of rate increases, so a victory in Arizona could have created momentum elsewhere.
Regulators approve fee on APS solar customers
By David Wichner | Arizona Daily Star
State utility regulators approved new fees for Arizona Public Service Co. customers with solar-energy systems, in a decision that could ultimately affect solar customers in Tucson.
But the Arizona Corporation Commission, on its split vote Thursday, approved far lower fees than APS requested, and the charges will apply only to customers who have signed up to install solar after Dec. 31.
After two days of often contentious debate, the commission decided on a 3-2 vote to impose a monthly fee of 70 cents for each kilowatt of solar-system capacity a customer owns, or about $5 a month for a typical 7-kilowatt home solar system.
The charges are to be reviewed and may be changed based on more detailed data in APS’ next rate case.
[EDITORIAL] Solar deal is just the beginning
The Republic | azcentral.com
Gary Pierce got one thing right.
“No one goes away completely happy,” Pierce said as he and the other Arizona Corporation Commission members prepared to vote on charging rooftop-solar customers some of the costs of supporting Arizona Public Service’s electric grid.
“They’re happy it’s over.”
As is anyone who has been overrun by the campaign-style attacks ads that filled radio, television and the Internet for the past month.
But don’t get too comfortable. This was only the beginning.
Corporation Commission approves monthly charge for APS solar users
By Kyle O’Donnell | Cronkite News
The Arizona Corporation Commission on Thursday narrowly approved a charge averaging $4.50 a month for APS customers installing new solar systems, resolving a contentious case over the future of net metering.
APS asked the commission to have solar users pay for access to the grid into which they feed excess electricity and in return receive credit against their bills.
The utility sought a higher amount and opposed the final agreement, a joint proposal from the state’s advocate for residential ratepayers and an industry group composed of several rooftop solar companies. That monthly charge, based on a solar system’s capacity, will be 70 cents per kilowatt starting in 2014.
Corporation Commission Chairman Bob Stump, who joined Bob Burns and Susan Bitter Smith voting in favor, said the decision balances the needs of all ratepayers and the future of solar power.
Marginal rate increase for solar power customers
By Al Macias | KJZZ
Arizona Public Service didn’t get what it asked for from the Arizona Corporation Commission. The state’s largest utility asked the commission to increase the amount it charges the owners of rooftop solar units, and the request was opposed by the solar industry.
APS says there are about 18,000 homes with solar units. The fight was over the issue of net metering, the process by which APS credits those customers for excess power generated.
APS wanted to lower the rate, which would have raised the homeowners’ monthly bill. Solar industry representatives testified that lowering the rate would kill the demand for roof top panels and cripple the industry.
After two days of hearings, the commission voted to raise the bills but only by about $5, a fraction of what the utility wanted.
Arizona regulators approve solar fee
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.
New home solar rates to go up [VIDEO]
By Jason Barry | CBS 5 News
The battle over the future of solar energy in Arizona took another turn Thursday.
The Arizona Corporation Commission voted 3-2 in favor of raising rates on new home solar customers.
New home solar customers will see an increase of about $5 on their monthly utility bill.
Arizona Public Service had asked for the rate hike, claiming that home solar customers are getting a free ride by not paying for some maintenance costs that have been passed on to non-solar users.
The $5 fee hike is significantly less than the $50 to $100 increase that APS originally asked for.
Arizona regulators adopt higher solar rates [VIDEO]
By Andrew Hasbun | FOX 10 News
One major power company wants to charge some solar users more for the use of solar power.
This meeting has been going on for two days. Essentially Arizona Public Service wants to add a surcharge to the bills of customers who have solar panels installed at home, but the solar industry in Arizona is fighting very hard against APS.
The Corporation Commission spent the entire day asking questions of APS and the representatives from the solar industry.
APS claims people who don’t have solar are unfairly bearing the cost of maintaining the power grid so that solar customers can have lower bills. So the company wants to charge solar customers an extra fee to help offset the costs of maintaining the power grid.
Solar companies say this is APS’ way of making solar less appealing to potential customers and they appeared to be fighting very hard against any kind of fee, but changed course and seemed open to a settlement.
Arizona Corporation Commission Rejects APS Attempt to End Solar Net Metering
Utility monopoly loses millions on anti-solar message that fell flat with Arizonans
(News Release)
(PHOENIX) Following a protest by some 1,000 people before it yesterday, the Arizona Corporation Commission today rebuked a plan by Arizona Public Service to end net metering.
“While APS and its national trade association EEI spent many millions attacking rooftop solar, the Arizona Corporation Commission made no changes to net metering,” said Barry Goldwater Jr., Chairman of T.U.S.K. (Tell Utilities Solar won’t be Killed). “The utilities and EEI showed just how far they are willing to go at any cost, and that is the legacy of the Arizona net metering battle–a major loss for APS and its allies.”
This decision by the ACC shows a respect for competition, customer choice, and economic growth in Arizona. Against APS’ wishes, the Commission imposed a compromise fee on solar users that is just 5% of what the utility monopoly had been seeking.
While the compromise represents a sacrifice by solar proponents, the industry can still continue to grow. It’s clear that the ACC listened to the overwhelming public outcry in support of rooftop solar. And it is an industry that was overwhelmingly supported in the fight against APS by likely Arizona voters, according to three different surveys by award-winning GOP pollster Glen Bolger of Public Opinion Strategies.
At the same time, any tax on solar hinders market growth and The Alliance for Solar Choice (T.A.S.C.) will continue its work to oppose solar taxes in other markets.
To learn more about T.U.S.K. visit www.dontkillsolar.com
T.U.S.K. believes that rooftop solar is similar to a charter school—it provides a competitive alternative to the monopoly. Monopoly utilities aren’t known for reducing costs or for driving business innovation, but the Arizona solar industry is. Solar companies have a track record of aggressive cost reduction in Arizona. The more people use rooftop solar, the less power they need to buy from the utilities. Energy independence for Arizonans means smaller profits for the utilities, so APS is doing everything it can to stop the spread of independent solar. Recently, APS has proposed a plan to tax rooftop solar out of existence.
E-mail from Vote Solar
Subject: Arizona Stands Strong for Solar Rights!
Friends,
We did it! In a major victory of David vs Goliath proportions, your elected officials at the ACC stood strong for Arizona energy choice and rejected APS’s attempt to slap hefty new fees on customers that go solar. Read all the details here.
Help us thank the three Commissioners who stood strong for your solar rights. Please go to twitter or facebook and post this:
“Thanks ACC @BitterSmith @BobStump Burns for standing strong for Arizonans yesterday: solar choice matters to me! #dontaxthesun #netmetering”
Despite millions of dollars spent on a misleading campaign by APS and its covert proxies, public outcry against the APS proposal has been overwhelming. Arizonans care deeply about their right to generate their own power from the sun, and APS’s attempt to maintain its monopoly grip over electricity was hugely unpopular. Over the course of this campaign, more than 30,000 Arizonans have emailed the ACC in support of rooftop solar.
That support was demonstrated in person earlier this week when 1,000 Arizonans gathered at the ACC to protest APS’s proposed solar tax. Inside the Commission, a steady stream of about 100 concerned individuals — solar workers, solar customers, non-solar customers, environmental advocates, retirees, veterans, even one passionate 11-year old girl — urged the Commissioners to stand up against the monopoly utility for the good of Arizonans. It was quite a day!
It’s important to note that while the APS’s outrageous proposal was soundly rejected, the Commission did approve for a relatively small monthly charge all for all new residential solar customers. We strongly disagree with this charge given that individuals’ solar investment is helping build a cleaner, safer and lower cost energy supply for all of us.
There will be work left to do when the Commission considers the issue in greater depth through a workshop process in 2014, and in APS’s next rate case in 2015. You can bet that APS will be back to its anti-solar, anti-consumer tactics, and we’ll need your voice again. But in the meantime, let’s celebrate this solar victory!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The utilities didn’t just get beat in the hearing room, they lost their credibility and wasted $4 million dollars to get nothing except customers, who are now furious at them
~ Rose Law Group Partner Court Rich regarding the debate over APS’ net metering proposal
Commissioners reign supreme when it comes to energy policy
By Luige del Puerto | Arizona Capitol Times
As it reaches a climax, the months-long campaign to reduce a key incentive for residential solar has given Arizonans a glimpse into a nearly obscure but powerful body of regulators that oversees some of Arizona’s biggest industries.
The fight over solar net metering and the battle to dismantle the state’s electric monopolies have demonstrated the reach of the Arizona Corporation Commission, whose powers are derived straight from the state Constitution.
The debates have shown the public how five individuals possess the authority to cultivate — or kill — an industry, or to shake up the status quo.
On Nov. 14, Commissioner Brenda Burns reminded both sides of the net metering debate that the commissioners — not social media or anyone else — would decide the outcome.
Defeated ‘solar team’ weighs in: ‘Chickens coming home to roost’
By Evan Wyloge | Arizona Capitol Times
A year before the Arizona Corporation Commission began formally considering reductions to rooftop solar panel incentives, Arizona voters rejected three Democratic commission candidates who billed themselves as the “solar team.”
The Democrats — two who were seeking reelection — said during their campaign for the three seats that they would work to protect the growing solar industry. They promised to explore a more ambitious renewable energy requirement that the Corporation Commission adopted in 2006.
Now, they are expressing disappointment over the new commission’s approach to solar energy.
Earlier coverage
Corporation Commission begins hearings on future of net metering
Arizona Corporation Commission holds hearing on net metering
Arizona utility, solar companies adopt election campaign tactics in fight over rooftop
Commissioners appear to favor compromise on rooftop solar incentives
APS, solar advocates battle for net metering before ACC
Arizona regulators face hundreds of solar supporters
Utility, solar company battle over rooftop panels
Exposure taking toll on utility monopolies
[EDITORIAL] ‘Fair is fair’ an ironic slogan
APS, solar industry battle over rooftop panels
