Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Colorado PUC Orders No Changes to Solar Net Metering

Renewable Energy World: In what is being lauded as a “fair outcome” for consumers, utilities and the solar industry alike, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) last week voted that no changes will be made to the state’s net metering policy, which currently reimburses solar customers at the retail rate of 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Colorado’s largest utility provider, Xcel Energy, argued that existing net metering rate design was giving solar customers hidden incentives that could result in a cost shift between solar and non-solar customers. The utility asked the PUC to examine if existing rates were too high, which they claimed could result in solar customers not paying their share of grid costs. The PUC’s oral decision, which is expected to be released in written form in the coming weeks, concluded that no changes would be enacted.

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