IPUC accepts Idaho Power solar study, lower export credits for solar owners expected next

Even as energy prices spike, if you own solar panels, you could soon be getting a lot less money back from Idaho Power.

That's what's indicated in a recent decision by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Commissioners asked Idaho Power to study the value of rooftop solar. The company's conclusion was that rates paid to solar owners should be much lower.

A lot of solar owners disagreed, and said so during six hours of testimony in November. Still, commissioners sided with Idaho Power in accepting the company's study.

When your solar panels produce more energy than you need, that excess energy goes back to the grid. Idaho Power then can use it where it's needed.

The company pays for that electricity, subtracting it on the next bill.

This summer, the company said it was paying too much for that excess electricity, and suggested cutting the rate by about 60 percent - making what it would like to pay among the lowest in the country.

"These types of battles and struggles with utilities against rooftop solar are happening across the country, and yet most states and most utilities still have net metering in place, which is what Idaho Power currently has, which means that customers receive the retail rate for compensation for the excess power they export onto the grid," said Lisa Young, the director of the Idaho Sierra Club.

In accepting Idaho Power's study, commissioners agreed the findings were fair.

As part of previous rulings, anyone who installed solar before Dec. 2019 would not be affected by the new rates.

Conservation groups say lower rates would take away the financial incentive for people to install solar, and complicate things for people who already have it.

"Who already made very large investments on these systems on their home in order to you know, produce clean energy for their home, to help their neighborhood, the planet, their finances. It provides more stability. All these reasons, folks made these important investments and now they're going to see the economics of that investment change," Young said.

A spokesperson for Idaho Power says they can't respond to the PUC's decision since they're still seeking clarification. In the past, they've said the current pricing policy - called net metering - overcompensates solar owners, leading to higher prices for everyone else.

Conservation groups argue Idaho Power's study was flawed and should have been conducted by an outside organization - one that doesn't stand to benefit from lower rates.

Adam Rush, a spokesperson for the PUC says commissioning Idaho Power to do it just made sense.

"One of the primary reasons was that Idaho Power had access to the information that the commission said was important, and it was a matter of them being able to pull together the information and address the topics and address the subjects the three member commission felt needed to be addressed," said Rush.

Young calls it a failed process.

"They don't really, you know, require any changes to Idaho Power's study and don't really seem to do anything with that robust engagement from the public," she said.

"We really do value the public comments. They're very, very important, and they're part of all the information that comes before the commissioners as they're getting ready to make a decision," Rush said.

Now Idaho Power will come up with a new rate structure and present it to the commission as part of a new case.

When that happens, the public will again be allowed to comment, but given what's already happened, Young admits it'll be an uphill battle for them.

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