Dive Brief:
- Responding to feedback from solar PV customers, We Energies has agreed to keep rate plans associated with solar generation unchanged for 10 years. New customers, however, could see significant changes in how the utility values consumer-generated solar power.
- According to We Energies, the current system of accounting for solar generation is unfair to other users of its system. The utility argues it pays customers too much for generating their own power.
- We Energies' filed a proposal with state regulators last week to prohibit customer-leased systems and to charge a fee to solar customers.
Dive Insight:
Utilities around the country are working to properly value solar generation, and We Energies wants to put in place significant changes to its own tariff. But the utility has agreed to grandfather in ratepayers who have already acquired their own system, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. We Energies said solar customers are not yet posing a profitability problem for the distribution system, but the utility wanted to propose changes before the customer-generated power digs too far into revenues.
We Energies utility also wants to increase the fixed portion of customers' bills by 75%, raising the fee to $16/month.
The Journal Sentinel also reported that Madison Gas & Electric Co. announced a similar plan earlier this year. That utility would delay changes to customer solar agreements for 15 years.