Utilities sabotaging solar with unnecessary high fees [View all]

[nichomachus]

http://www.ringoffireradio.com/2015/03/terrified-utility-companies-cant-beat-solar-power-so-now-theyre-trying-to-pass-laws-against-it/

Since 2010, the average cost of solar power has dropped by nearly 60 percent. More-efficient designs and lower production costs have led to a boom in solar-energy use in homes, and a recent study by Cambridge University found that solar power will soon be able to “out-compete fossil fuels, even if oil prices drop to as low as $10 a barrel,” the Washington Post reported.

Because of this rapid increase in affordability and use, utility companies are terrified and are launching attack campaigns to try and limit the damage to their bottom line.

For example, an Arizona utility voted last month to institute a $50 monthly surcharge for “net metering,” a practice that “allows solar customers to earn credit for the surplus electricity they provide to the electric grid.” Those credits greatly lower customers’ bills, helping to offset the initial costs of the solar panels, and having to pay an additional $50 per month cancels out their savings.

A utility commission in Wisconsin also approved a similar charge, and a New Mexico regulator is considering raising fees for solar customers as well. Other states are even targeting minority groups to help argue that solar-panel use causes the electricity rates to rise for non-solar customers, therefore hurting low-income families.