Washington Electric Co-op will no longer accept net metering applications after the Public Service Board suspended WEC’s proposal to exceed statutory caps.
Utilities do not have to accept applications for net-metering systems when the installed wattage of a utility’s total net metering surpasses 4 percent of its peak demand from the previous year or from 1996, whichever is greater.
The co-op met this limit in January. It continued, however, to permit renewable energy installations smaller than 5 kilowatts to enroll in the program. Patty Richards, WEC’s general manager, said that by October the co-op was accepting electricity from net-metering customers that amounted to 10 percent of peak demand.
She said the program was temporary, until lawmakers address the problem of net metering caps. However, the Public Service Board wanted to investigate WEC’s program, a process that Richards said could take six months.
“The suspension by the Public Service Board prevented us from doing anything with net metering,” she said Tuesday afternoon.
In its order, the board said it had concerns about the legality of WEC’s decision and wanted to time to review it. The PSB order (attached below) said WEC’s request to exceed the cap did not cite a legal basis under the statute that covers net metering.
Richards said there were only a few people in the application process when the decision was made Monday. These customers will be first in line if lawmakers come up with a solution this session, she said.
She said the co-op plans to work with lawmakers during the second year of the legislative biennium, which starts in January, to make changes to the net metering law.
“There is a structural problem with the current program,” Richards said. “Let’s not Band-Aid the current program design and really fix it.”
The three-part proposal that WEC will make will include sharing the costs and benefits of the program statewide.
“We think the cost and the benefits should be distributed statewide,” Richards said. “Equitable distribution of the net-metered projects would make the whole program be sustainable.”
Her plan would also include pairing the program with home thermal efficiency programs, she said.
“Our proposal is to have energy efficiency work into the installation of these projects,” Richards said. “Right now, there is kind of a gap between the two.”
Lastly, the co-op will propose a fee to cover the cost of transmission and grid maintenance. Opponents of the current program say the current credit passes these costs on to non-net metering customers.
Richards said there have been several proposed fixes to the net-metering program that are significantly different but it is unclear what direction lawmakers will take.
Vermont Electric Co-op previously submitted a proposal to the Public Service Board that would reduce the incentives for the net metering program. The Public Service Department did not support the proposal.
Currently, utilities pay 20 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to customers with renewable energy projects. In October, VEC proposed reducing the credit to 12 cents per kWh for the first 10 years and then 16 cents after 20 years in their report to the PSB.
In November, Hardwick Electric Department raised its cap to 6 percent after reaching the statutory cap. The Morrisville electric department and Vermont Electric Co-op have stopped accepting applications.
This article was updated at 11:44 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, to add clarity.
