Solar Net Metering Under Attack at the Federal Level – Learn What’s at Stake and Take Action.

A petition on April 14th to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the potential to trigger nationwide changes to solar net metering. In the petition, the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) petitioned FERC to assert jurisdiction over any on-site, behind-the-meter generation that injects energy onto the grid.

Read the petition.

If FERC asserts such jurisdiction in the manner requested by NERA, individual states could lose control over their solar net-metering policies, impacting the distributed generation solar market throughout the United States.

Currently, states set their own rules concerning net metering compensation for solar energy generated by residential, commercial and municipal utility customers in excess of what the customer needs at any given time. 

What is net metering? 

What does this mean for solar? NERA argues that customers should be compensated no more than a utility’s avoided costs rather than compensated at retail rates. This can be as low at 2-3 cents per kWh and would significantly impact the value of solar PV systems for homeowners, businesses, and municipalities that install solar PV. As such, it would likely impact the industry through a reduced interest in solar PV installations.

Read the full article. 

If net metering is important to you, we encourage you to Take Action by visiting SaveSolar.org where you can coordinate a delivery of a letter to your Governor and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Comments have been extended to June 15th.

We encourage you to please take a moment to tell your story and share why solar rights matter to you.