Residents using solar panels may see increase in annual costs

Apr 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Chris Roberts El Paso Times, Texas

Billing changes for people producing electricity from the sun with solar panels on their roofs will kill future investment in that type of renewable energy, say those who already have spent hard-earned money on photovoltaic projects.

Among those testifying to the El Paso City Council today was Lucia Sandoval Gadney, who said her family had decided to take out a loan to purchase solar panels before the changes.

"We saw this as a win for our family and a win for our country because we are minimizing the need for foreign oil," she told council members. The changes have to do with a complicated formula that stems from a 2007 state law. After the law was put into effect, it allowed El Paso Electric to pay a much lower price for the energy it purchases from solar homes while charging retail prices for power they sell.

About 40 people with photovoltaic panels in El Paso saw an increase in their annual costs ranging between $15 and $400, said Marty Howell, the city's sustainability manager.

Howell recommended a number of solutions to the council, including increasing incentives, creating a new law that will redefine the rate structure and writing off some of the bills. Howell also recommended that the city support a proposed El Paso Electric project to produce solar power on a larger scale.

For more on this story please read Wednesday's El Paso Times.