See the Complete Original post published in Breaking Energy
Summary of David Field’s Article:
A debate between the residential solar industries and utilities providers has escalated into a full blown public standoff in many states. Utility providers are now trying to eliminate net metering policies that allow homeowners to earn credit for their contribution to energy production. Companies like APS in Arizona and Xcel Energy in Colorado have submitted plans to their respective utilities commissions to increase rates for residential solar customers.
These changes have moved what used to be a regulatory mandate into a voter issue, where consumers will have the burden of weeding through factual and fictional data. The information that is being hurled at the voters includes misconstrued data, like that produced by APS, claiming that homes with an average solar system added $20,000 in cost to non-solar homeowners. What APS failed to mention is that data was based on a 20-year period.
More recent data, from consulting firm Crossborder Energy, who conducted an analysis on net metering for customers of the three California utilities concludes that net metering’s benefits to the ratepayers of those utilities outweigh the costs. (Full report PDF)
As the debate continues to roll on, we are going to need significant quantitative research, so that voters and public officials can make decisions based on facts rather than propaganda. Consumers deserve a choice not a monopoly.
