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.
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