The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted on August 24, 2023 to cut the Resource Comparison Proxy (RCP) in the state, a metric that is used to determine the market value of exporting rooftop solar production to the grid. The Commission voted to step down the RCP by 10%, adhering to a 2017 rule that capped value reductions at that level.
While the 10% reduction in exported solar harms rooftop solar customers, things may have ended up much worse. Arizona Corporation Commissioner Nick Myers filed an amendment that would cut net energy metering (NEM) rates to $0.053 per kWh, a reduction of 37%, which would have taken effect suddenly in September.
“The stability provided by the RCP is the fundamental reason solar has continued to thrive in Arizona. Stable, predictable rates give solar companies and consumers certainty about the future and the confidence to invest in their homes and businesses,” said Kate Bowman, interior west regulatory director, Vote Solar.
Vote Solar, a nonprofit advocating for equitable access to solar energy, filed comments on the RCP, emphasizing a need for a gradual approach to changes to let the market adapt. It commented that utilities have not filed transparent, publicly available data to support their RCP ratemaking calculations. The use of non-transparent internal utility data as the guideline for ratemaking is a problem that has been highlighted nationwide in similar such rulemaking battles. Investor-owned utilities appear to be digging moats around their business by squeezing out rooftop solar.
Vote Solar said Arizona’s RCP values put forth by utilities for 2023 have not undergone transparent scrutiny, potentially leading to unfavorable customer outcomes.
“Arizona families and businesses are facing rising energy prices, inflation, and high electricity bills following a summer of record-breaking heat. Rooftop solar is a solution that can help consumers take control of their energy costs, and any reductions to the RCP undermine the affordability of solar energy and hinder the expansion of solar adoption in the state,” said Bowman.
The proposed cuts to solar compensation rates are justified based on “cost-shift issues,” a utility-backed argument that non-solar customers were cross-subsidizing rooftop solar customers by increasing utility system costs. Utility Arizona Public Service (APS) provided data to the Corporation Commission claiming, “the magnitude of cost shift within the residential ratepayer class is within the range of $800 to $1000 per year.” This would amount to an $18 million cross-subsidization.
However, numerous studies by national labs and state groups have debunked utility claims of such a significant cost-shift. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that at current levels of rooftop solar adoption, the cost shift is negligible. At solar adoption rates of 10% of electricity generation mix or more, the cost shift was found to be a miniscule $0.005 per kWh.
While rooftop solar comes with many system-level benefits to efficiency and resource use, environmental footprint benefits, and social gain, the ACC has shown that these metrics are unimportant when evaluating the value of a good or service.
The ACC wrote it did not support “inclusion of societal and environmental factors and other externalities in valuing solar DG exports, which are speculative and inappropriate for ratemaking purposes.”
The adherence to a 10% reduction was a temporary win for rooftop solar, but the ACC stated it has interest in revisiting the foundations of Arizona’s solar compensation structures entirely. It is taking public input on the RCP prior to its October 11 meeting.
“Consumers and businesses rely on Commission decisions to make important decisions about their budgets and future investments, and dismantling the measured transition approach that the Commission initially championed creates destabilizing uncertainty,” concluded Vote Solar.
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Very encouraging news, and will follow. Advocacy for – “solar” – by Evergreen Alliance, the ACC, and many other odd green-claim agencies, for – their- “solar”, as renewable energy development – needs a more easily recognized name, and classification.
Promotions of commercial corporate utility scale “solar” energy development as The Only Way, is more than just hiding or mis-characterizing the lower True Costs, longterm natural systems’ conservation advantages, the current in-use reliability, and – reliable – affordability of the “responsive”, modular, fitted Microgrids: it is also a picture of the desperation of utility scale energy developer corporation – accountants.
Soon, and I hope, in time – for everyone’s plans forwards, – the 1872-1976 FLPMA business model of utility scale energy “development”, will pull – itself – down, along with the already bypassed-tech Links, mega stations, towers, 530 volt lines and “large array” engineering infrastructure, now threatening the US’ remaining singular and essential natural wildlands. Time may save us all a lot of serial, circular mess clean-up. And it may save a lot of money, for consumers, if commercial corporate developers no longer have sole control of pricing for solar energy.
So if you saw the cats go through, what does that have anything to do with that solar like a year to them? Because my mom got all the panels put on top of her house and there’s still almost $30,000 owed on them and she has passed away recently and I’m trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do with them regarding the house because I’m not supposed to inherit any debt that my mom left as what our trust says so I’m confused will be back rate it to include previously bought solar panals or is it just going forward?
Already can’t afford power rates always increasing. Now because home owners off set costs and attempt to add some self sufficient aiding equipment to not have to pay ridiculous outrageous power cost.i mean my power bill exceeds my rent and all other living expenses combined. And already have limited solar use since residents cannot store power harvested in battery storage and it is returned to the grid and barely offset usage as is now that too much power is returning to the grid and APS doesn’t have absolutely control of power manufacturing and distribution that greed and more oppression by making solar panels even more useless all that they will accomplish is to render homes without power homelessness and forced poverty to those barely making it as it is corporate tyrants I’m ready to disconnect apps from supply power and go off grid and give my money to the oil industry by running of a generator and risk being arrested for storage of my own power how absolutely disappointment jobs stomped out over the last presidential term economy force in to recession and declining prosperity cost of housing increased substantially to near unaffordable to middle class and below vehicle cost to purchase has risen substantially can’t afford to a vehicle without costing as much as a house used to used cars has also increased can’t evn afford used cars food cost are up and now another kick in the guts with power rate increasing and offset percentage decreased to a pointless percentage from what was barely impacting power usage the hour solar panels produce usable power most residents are not even home and are working then the time people are home to use solar produced power it’s during peak hours driving the offset power usage up already surpassing solar panels benefits to reduce grid usage and what power is produced cannot be stored and returned to the grid and distributed as aps power elsewhere only benefit goes to aps gain cut rate power supplied by equipment they don’t have to maintain or even purchase just another corporate giant extending domination over American citizens guess its hard to thrive as a super power if poverty and oppression isnt in place to keep the population from thriving and depend less on dominating entities of this country but hey free heath care is in ample supply apparently guess with homeless at record highs medical care is a growing industry and government health care funnels into another giant out if the pockets of what Americans that have managed to remain employed not cut loose by the forcefully declining economy jobs reduced to just make it many businesses closed their door eliminating jobs entirely un able to stay in business if the last four years haven’t shown how awful of a idea it was to vote for the president in power and bring light to the delusional minds and show some reality of the way our government operates then I dint know what will sure was alot less hungry and thriving in the last presidential term thats for sure now i can’t afford to turn the lights on how dismal