Idaho Power wants to put rooftop solar customers in separate rate class
Idaho is the latest state to enter a nationwide debate over its net metering policy, a popular pricing mechanism that credits rooftop solar customers — usually at the retail rate — for their excess energy sent to the grid.
Established on a state-by-state basis, the proliferation of rooftop solar across the United States spurred many of these proceedings in the past several years as utilities looked to reduce compensation or eliminate the policy outright, claiming those customers don’t pay their fair share of grid upkeep.
Idaho Power, in its latest filing with the state’s public utilities commission, reiterated those claims. The utility unsuccessfully tried to raise fees on rooftop solar customers in 2013.
“These unnecessary inaccuracies in pricing could result in unfair cost shifting between customers who choose to install on-site generation and those who do not,” the utility wrote. ” As the electric utility industry nationally is assessing the appropriateness of net metering policies and practices established decades ago, ldaho Power believes now is the time to review and modify those policies as they apply to ldaho Power and its customers to ensure that this growing segment of customers has available to it a service offering that is fair-priced, scalable, and sustainable into the future.”
