This was mentioned at the Conference. It now in play in Virginia – we’ll have to watch out for it here too….

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Utilities in several states are turning to new charges to make up for revenue they're losing to homes with solar power.

The price of solar panels has fallen dramatically, and more people are installing them. In response, industry groups are urging states to let power companies add charges or credit homeowners less for the excess electricity they generate.

Gabe Elsner, executive director of the Energy and Policy Institute, said home solar had been considered too small to worry about - but no longer.

"The pro blem for the utility company is that they make money by generating power and selling it to customers," he said. "So when you decide to create your own power, suddenly they just lost a customer."

Elsner said the push for the new fees started with the industry trade group Edison Electric Institute and was promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council. EEI declined to comment, but a report called "Disruptive Challenges" that was done for the group talked about the issue. It said that if too many homeowners generate their own power, utilities could be stuck for the cost of maintaining the grid. However, Elsner said studies, including a recent one in Utah, have shown that home solar systems are good for the grid.

"They ease congestion on transmission lines," he said, "They create clean power locally, so it's more effic ient, instead of building more, big power plants."

Elsner said a power company in Arizona is willing to pay homeowners for the right to put utility-owned solar panels on their roofs, while at the same time wanting to charge folks who do it for themselves. He said the industry is coming to recognize that distributed power generation has great potential.

"The fact that our grid is so centralized actually leaves us vulnerable," he said, "Solar power creates a more distributed electricity system that's more secure and more resilient."

Appalachian Power has asked the state of Virginia for permission to add a fee to the bills of homeowners in that state with the capacity to generate from 10 to 20 kilowatts. The company points out that almost all homes with solar panels or other generating systems would fall below 10 kilowatts. The company has customers in West Virginia, although it has not requested the fee here.

The EEI report is online at eei.org.