30.09.2013: Californians who own rooftop PV systems are not paying their fair share of the costs associated with maintaining the power grid, according to a new report commissioned by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The report, which was issued by the CPUC but performed by an outside research firm, forecast that in 2020, net metering would cost $1.1 billion a year, reports Reuters. This means that in 2020, net metering will shift about $359 million in costs a year from customers with rooftop PV to other ratepayers. Residential customers who do not have a PV system will bear about $287 million of those costs, the report finds. Utilities have long argued that under net-metering programs, customers with rooftop PV systems do not pay their fair share to maintain the grid. Solar industry representatives contend that net metering benefits all ratepayers and is critical to driving down the cost of PV and expanding the market for distributed solar. Last month, California passed a new state law that authorizes the CPUC to reform utility rates and design a new net metering program that would take effect in 2017. The CPUC has not yet said how it plans to reform the program. At the end of 2012, California’s three investor-owned utilities had about 150,000 net metering customers between them. The report was conducted by California-based research firm Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. © PHOTON |
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