For Immediate Release 10-11-06
Contact; Gary Zuckett, WV Citizen Action Group 304-346-5891
*Community Groups Applaud PSC Agreement on Net Metering*
Charleston -- Citizen groups and electric utilities testified before the WV Public Service Commission yesterday in support of a package of standards to allow homeowners who generate their own electricity using renewable methods such as wind and solar to "run the meter backwards" and actually send their excess power to the public electric grid.
Net Metering, as this is called, is already allowed in all surrounding states but the rules in each state vary widely. "This agreement is a great start into Net Metering," commented Gary Zuckett, of WV Citizen Action, one of the parties of the negotiation process which brought the proposed rules to the Commission, "This will give a much needed economic incentive for homeowners and small business to install wind & solar generation equipment."
Commission staff and the Consumer Advocate, Billy Jack Greg, brought together stakeholders including, AEP, Allegheny, APCO, APC and other utilities and the WV Environmental Council and WV Citizen Action Group to work out differences in their concepts of how Net Metering should be implemented in WV. After hearing no objections to the consensus agreement at the hearing yesterday, the Commissioners took a short recess then came back in and passed the Net Metering rules.
The agreement accepted by the Commission has several benchmarks that are favorable for homeowners and small businesses who want to trade excess generated power back to their utilities to offset their electric bill:
1. An even trade for power used vs. power returned to the utility's grid. In other words power sent into the grid would be credited as an offset to the customer's future electric bill on a net kwh basis (the utility's applicable retail rate). In contrast, Ohio's reimbursement only cover's the utilities fuel costs (a wholesale rate much lower than retail)
2. This generation credit will be carried over on a rolling twelve (12) month basis. Again, Ohio has only a one-month window to redeem such credits.
3. Maximum rating of Net Metering installations is 25 Kilowatts where many states limits are 10 KW.
William DePaulo, counsel for the citizen's groups closed his presentation to the Commission with the following comment , "My clients, WV Environmental Council and Citizen Action Group, support these Net Metering rules as a good beginning of the active promotion of domestic small-scale alternative energy generation. Our long term goal should be to maximize production of non-fossil based energy. Future generations are depending on our commitment today to deal with potentially irreversible climate change linked to our fossil-based economy. The production of clean energy is an essential component of this critical effort to combat global warming."
Federal tax credits can offset up to 30% of the cost of new Net Metering installations for homeowners and small businesses. In addition, many states have their own tax incentives or matching grants to promote renewable energy.
"West Virginia's new net metering standards put it in a good position to enter the emerging market of small-scale renewable energy generation. More and more households and small businesses in Ohio are opting to trim or eliminate their electric bill by becoming part of the solution to our nation's energy crisis through Net Metering," commented Matthew Bennett of DovetailSolar.com a SE Ohio company that specializes in solar and wind energy installations, "Now its time for the WV Legislature to step up to the plate and provide state tax credits or other incentives to kick-start the market."
In Ohio, the Dept. of Economic Development's Office of Energy Efficiency administers an "Energy Loan Fund" (http://www.odod.state.oh.us/cdd/oee/ELFGrant.htm ) which includes a variety of loan and grant programs providing economic incentives for renewable energy installations for both homeowners and small business. This ten million dollar a year development program is funded by a small surcharge on consumer's monthly electric bills.
PSC Net Metering References, Case No. 06-0708-E-GI:
http://www.psc.state.wv.us/imaged_files/Docket/2006_09/dck20060914165633.pdf WV Citizen Action filed Comments
http://www.psc.state.wv.us/imaged_files/Docket/2006_09/dck20060915161314.pdf WVEC comments
http://www.psc.state.wv.us/imaged_files/Docket/2006_10/dck20061003105039.pdf Consensus document filed with PSC