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Three-quarters of Utahns oppose increasing electricity costs for rooftop solar customers, according to a survey commissioned by the Utah Solar Energy Association.

And 76 percent of Utahns agree that Rocky Mountain Power's recent proposal to change how it bills residential solar customers "unfairly discriminates against customers who are trying to reduce their reliance on energy from Rocky Mountain Power," according to the poll, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates.

Paul Murphy, a spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power, called the survey a push poll, with questions intended to elicit pro-solar and anti-utility answers.

Respondents were asked whether they opposed an increase after being told, for example, that the proposal "will effectively eliminate the rooftop solar industry in Utah, one of Utah's fastest growing industries" and "eliminate hundreds or thousands of jobs in Utah."

Rocky Mountain Power filed its request for the new rate — which would affect only households with rooftop solar installations — last month with the Public Service Commission, which is expected to consider the issue later next year.

The rate schedule would increase rooftop solar users' monthly service charge and introduce a monthly "demand charge." Utahns can view how the proposal would affect monthly rates by visiting local.sltrib.com/solar.

The utility says the changes are intended to cover the cost of maintaining the electrical grid. Most Rocky Mountain Power customers pay for those costs through charges that are based on electrical use — but households with rooftop solar use less power and thus, the utility holds, aren't paying their fair share to access the grid.

Ryan Evans, president of the Utah Solar Energy Association, said Rocky Mountain Power's analysis fails to take into account the many costs the utility avoids when customers install rooftop solar panels, which are both economic — reduced need for new power plants, for example — and environmental.

"We really want to see a third-party, independent evaluation of the value to the community," Evans said. "I think that's all we want, a fair crack at what the true value of solar energy is on the Wasatch Front."

Judd Nielsen, a lead researcher with Dan Jones & Associates, said his company drafted the survey questions with input from the Utah Solar Energy Association. He said the survey underwent multiple internal reviews as per company policy.

"We want to make sure that we make them [the surveys] as clear and unbiased as possible, because it's our reputation," he said, "and we have always believed in polling the public in as straightforward a manner as possible."

Murphy disputed the survey's assertion that the proposal would cost the typical solar user an additional $25 to $30 per month — a statement that 70 percent of respondents said made them more likely to oppose the proposal.

Rocky Mountain Power has calculated that the typical net-metering customer — using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month, half generated by solar panels — would see their average monthly bill increase from $55 to $74.

And some bills would actually be lower than they are now, Murphy said.

Evans said he acquired the figures for the survey from members of the Utah Solar Energy Association, which conducted its own analysis of the utility's proposal.

Nielsen said Dan Jones did not contact Rocky Mountain Power while drafting the survey, but compared the information with statements from the company's public filings and websites.

The survey also asked which energy sources should see more development in Utah. Solar topped the list, with 88 percent of respondents favoring its development. Natural gas, wind and geothermal energy also found approval above 80 percent. Coal and nuclear energy were the least popular, each favored by 45 percent of respondents.

The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.39 percentage points, was conducted Nov. 21-29 via landlines, cellphones and an online survey. Of the 834 Utahns who responded, most — 94 percent — do not currently own a solar power system.

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