PV-Tech Quotes Jason Johns on Impacts on Arizona Solar Consumers of Grandfathering of Electricity Rate Change
"The benefit of the clarification for both customers and APS is that it provides customers with more control over whether they are grandfathered and consequently also reduces the likelihood that APS is blamed for a customer failing to be grandfathered."
The article discusses a pending decision by the Arizona Corporation Commission on whether to make more favorable the timing for when consumers will be grandfathered in under new rules that replace retail net metering with a wholesale rate for their excess solar energy production. The new rate is a response to the criticism that solar customers do not bear their fair share of the costs of using the electrical grid.
Under the current requirements, the new rates, which are roughly half the old rates, would apply to customers whose solar systems were connected to the grid after the decision while customers connected before the decision would be grandfathered for 20 years from the date of interconnection. If the proposed change is enacted, the grandfathering would also apply to include solar customers with pending applications.
"By clarifying that customers who have requested interconnection service will be grandfathered, as opposed to drawing the line at customers who have received that service, the ACC will likely cause more customers to be grandfathered into the previous formulation of APS’s NEM programme – a benefit to those who prefer the previous NEM formulation,” said Johns.
(Please note that the ACC ultimately adopted (by order dated January 13, 2017) the amendment under discussion in this article.)
Read “Arizona solar industry hinges on imminent grandfathering decision,” published January 10, 2017.
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