This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Regarding the editorial ("Quantify rooftop solar's benefit before setting fee," July 11):
I have had a solar system with net metering for four years. When I hooked up I was told that the "basic charge" and "minimum charge" fees, that are on all user bills, were price for grid maintenance.
Look at your power bill. There are flat fees and then power-use fees. Implied is that the power use fee is for power only. To assess solar users more only makes sense if there are grid maintenance fees within the power fee. The power company should separate this out on the bill to be more transparent. There would be the flat fees, an incremental grid fee based on power use and then the true cost of the power.
Perhaps an answer is that the flat grid maintenance costs would go up for all. It does not make sense that the base costs only go up for solar users. How about those that use minimal electricity because they conserve? The solution being presented does not add up.
Doug Hasbrouck
Riverton