Idaho Public Utilities Commission schedules hearings on net metering proposal
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission recently scheduled two public hearings for March 1 in Boise and March 5 in Pocatello on a proposal from Idaho Power Company to reclassify customers who generate their own electricity.
The hearings will provide an opportunity for interested parties to submit testimony for the formal case record.
If approved, Idaho Power’s proposal would create new customer classes for residential and small general service customers who generate their own electricity, predominately through rooftop solar. The proposal also requests that the Commission open a generic docket “to establish a compensation structure” for these customers and would require new net metering customers to install smart inverters once an industry standard is established.
The changes in the proposal would apply to customers with on-site generation who sign up for new service after Dec. 31, 2017. Customers enrolled in the net metering program before that date would “transition over some period of years” to the proposed customer classes.
Net metering rules currently apply to Idaho Power customers with on-site generation, which allows their consumption to be offset by sending energy they generate to the utility’s distribution system. Customers are charged for the “net” amount of energy they use each month. If they produce more energy than they use, they receive credit at the full retail rate for the difference. These customers are currently classified in the same way as those with standard electric service.
Idaho Power argues that these rules lead to an unfair portion of the financial burden of maintaining and operating the distribution system for standard electric customers.
“The most appropriate time for the Commission to begin to address cost shifting caused by the combination of net metering and current rate design is now, before (on-site generation) penetration reaches higher levels,” the utility said in its application.
