Administrative Law Judge Says Corporation Commission Needs To Determine The Value Of Solar Before Deciding On Unisource Rate Hike 

Other Utilities Watching Closely 

NEWS RELEASE

(Editor’s note: News releases are published unedited, unless they contain factual errors.)

(PHOENIX) Canada-based Unisource Energy’s attempt to impose demand charges and eliminate net metering for Mohave County solar customers has suffered a setback.

An administrative law judge has recommended the Arizona Corporation Commission hold off on any decision until further analysis is completed on the value of solar.

Without persuasive data to back up its claims, Unisource is alleging that rooftop solar customers are driving up costs. Solar advocates point out that rooftop solar actually lowers costs for all ratepayers by reducing the need for utilities to build expensive new power generation facilities and avoiding other costs that are typically passed onto all ratepayers.

The Arizona Corporation Commission is already studying methods for valuing rooftop solar. The results of that investigation are expected in the fall. A hearing on the Unisource rate hike is tentatively scheduled for August 9th.

Meanwhile, Unisource is still seeking to impose new rate structures for rooftop solar customers which would kill the solar industry in Kingman and Lake Havasu City.

It seeks demand charges which bill customers based on the highest hour of energy use during peak hours over a month. Customers who do their best to control their usage would be penalized if they use too much power over just one hour a month. Unisource also wants to discourage customers from generating their own electricity by ending net metering which fairly compensates rooftop solar customers for the excess energy they send back to the grid.

If Unisource gets its way, other utilities are likely to follow suit. That’s why Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power support the Unisource request.

Retired Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan is leading the opposition to the rate hike. Sheahan said, “Unisource wants to kill off a competitor through government regulation. That’s bad for Mohave County and it’s bad for Arizona. Once solar customers get hit with demand charges, non-solar customers could be next. Unisource is turning rooftop solar customers into guinea pigs.”

Click here to watch Sheahan’s video. 

TASC (The Alliance for Solar Choice) advocates for maintaining successful distributed solar energy policies, such as retail net metering, throughout the United States. Retail net metering (NEM) provides fair credit to residents, businesses, churches, schools, and other public agencies when their solar systems export excess energy to the
grid. The organization was formed on the belief that anyone should have the option to switch from utility power to distributed solar power, and realize the financial benefits therein. The rooftop solar market has been largely driven by Americans’ desire to assert control over their electric bills, a trend that should be encouraged.