Solar advocates ask W. Va governor to veto net metering bill
Although coal is still the predominant energy source in West Virginia, solar has been growing in the state in recent years. Advocates for solar energy are urging Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to veto House Bill (HB) 2201. The bill is meant to amend and reenact §24-2F-8 of the Code of West Virginia, "providing a definition for net metering, requiring the Public Service Commission to adopt certain net metering and interconnection rules and standards, and striking deadlines for rule-making by the Public Service Commission."
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West Virginia State Capitol Building in Charleston. Credit: Analogue Kid/Wikimedia Commons |
HB 2201 introduces a new definition for net metering, which says, in part, that it would: "[measure] the difference between electricity supplied by an electric utility and electricity generated from a facility owned or operated by an electric retail customer when any portion of the electricity generated from the facility is used to offset part or all of the electric retail customer's requirements for electricity."
HB 2201 would eliminate solar leasing in the state, which advocates say would allow people of all incomes to be able to install solar on their homes.
Renewable energy advocate Tell Utilities Solar won't be Killed (TUSK) warns that the language in the bill is deceptive, alleging that the bill would allow utilities to impose fees on customers -- "retroactively and going forward."
"The utilities are fighting tooth and nail to eliminate competition while also raising rates for their customers," said TUSK spokesperson Barry Goldwater Jr. in a press release. "When will it be enough? These monopolies are hurting consumers and West Virginia's economy by increasing rates and pushing new fees through HB 2201."
Bryan Miller, co-chair of the Alliance for Solar Choice, told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that when the bill first made its way through the House, it was amended after concerns from current solar users. He said that "grandfathering" those current customers would not hurt utilities, but the amended version was eventually "jettisoned."
"I urge Governor Tomblin to protect private investment and veto HB 2201," added Goldwater Jr. "West Virginians who have improved their homes and businesses by investing hard-earned money in solar should be applauded, not punished, with after-the-fact punitive fees."
After the bill was amended by the Senate, it was returned to the House who approved the amended version and sent it to Gov. Tomblin's desk on Feb. 18.
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