This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With its decision this week on how to go about setting power rates for net meterers who generate their own solar power, the Utah Public Service Commission erred on the side of protecting the vast majority of customers who don't have solar panels.
That is an understandable view, but it may not hold up over time.
The PSC had the opportunity to craft the beginnings of a way forward in a world where power no longer flows only one way, where many people own their own solar panels that kick some power back to the grid.
The PSC this week decided to weigh the costs and benefits of those home generators by comparing the actual cost of service with the cost "that would exist but for net-metering customers' self-generation." That essentially means that any societal benefit of rooftop solar — clean air, less carbon footprint — remains outside the rate structure.
That puts measurement of the costs and benefits of solar power on the terms of Rocky Mountain Power, which can argue that there is nothing the several thousand rooftop solar customers are doing to keep the vast majority of customers' costs lower.
In essence, the PSC conceded it can only do so much. It doesn't operate a power grid, so it has to work with the people who do. And, taking seriously its charge to provide fairness to all, the PSC found it hard to shift any costs onto non-producers in the name of a cleaner future. Solar advocates still maintain their panels reduce RMP's costs, but the PSC wasn't convinced when those reduced costs are buried in the larger costs of maintaining and updating the power grid.
Privately owned public utilities are the odd stepchild of regulated capitalism. With no effective competitors, they instead must justify their costs to regulators, who then set rates to provide fairness to customers and acceptable profits for the company. So while generating rooftop solar power may be good for society (it's hard to see how it wouldn't be), it's no help to Rocky Mountain Power, which can then argue that it's no help to the vast majority of its customers.
Ultimately, rooftop solar is likely to grow, and this dilemma will only get more pronounced. Rocky Mountain Power even acknowledges that. They are pursuing a rate structure that would charge separately for using its grid vs. buying its power. RMP also plans to build a "net-zero" test community that doesn't rely on an outside power source, just local generation and efficient construction. In other words, RMP is fine with looking at a changing future that doesn't reduce its role.
For now, the Public Service Commission is playing it safe to protect most Utah customers. But as home power generation continues to grow, the PSC will find it harder to ignore its benefit to all Utahns.