PHOENIX (AP) - A southeastern Arizona electric cooperative became the latest co-op earlier this month to propose cutting down on savings for solar customers.
Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative filed an application April 14 with the Arizona Corporation Commission to revise its net metering rates. The co-op is proposing paying for excess power generated by the panels at a rate of about 3.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, down from the current rate of 12.6 cents. Roughly 1,000, or 2 percent, of its 51,000 customers currently use rooftop solar panels. Solar users would keep paying the retail rate when they buy power from the co-op.
The change is needed because the costs shifted from solar to non-solar customers are climbing, Sulphur Springs officials said. According to the co-op, the cost shift will rise to $1.1 million this year. It was about $82,000 in 2010.
“Our issue is, it’s something that needs to be handled, and the longer that this goes on, the worse the cure is going to be. This is the time, we believe, that we need to fix what ails us,” company spokesman Jack Blair told the Arizona Capitol Times (https://bit.ly/1zZiZud ).
The cost-cutting proposal isn’t about helping investors or executives because members own the cooperative, Blair added.
The company is hoping the Corporation Commission will expedite the proposal and waive a hearing.
Other utilities and co-ops have already proposed reductions in payment rates for excess power. Trico Electric Cooperative, which has 38,000 members with 1,200 using solar, also wants to slash the rate it pays for excess power. Tucson Electric Power recently asked to bring pay rates for additional power to what it pays for power from large-scale solar operations. Arizona Public Service, meanwhile, wants to raise its monthly grid fee for solar customers from $5 to $21.
Trico and Sulphur Springs are near more urban areas, which is one reason they are seeing more solar customers, said John Wallace, CEO of the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association. The association, which is made up of seven member co-ops, said other members will be watching how the Corporation Commission reacts.
“My assumption is they’re going to take a wait-and-see attitude. Eventually, I would expect them to follow suit,” Wallace said.
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Information from: Arizona Capitol Times, https://www.arizonacapitoltimes.com
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