What is happening
Texans deserve fair credit when they invest in solar. This is a free-market solution to protect us from future disasters like Storm Uri. If you’re a Texas solar owner with the option to choose your Retail Electricity Provider, sign the pledge. Show your interest in retail plans that provide fair credit.
Why fair credit matters
When your solar system produces more electricity than your home uses, the excess electricity is sent out through your electric meter. Your neighbors use this extra electricity.
In most places, solar homeowners receive a credit on their monthly utility bill for this excess electricity their system produces. When the excess generation is credited at the same rate as the customer’s consumption this is known as “net metering.” Net metering ensures solar homeowners receive fair credit for the electricity their systems generate. It helps you see a return on your investment into solar.
Net metering policies are enacted at the state level.
Thirty-eight states require utilities to offer net-metering. Texas is not one of them.
Until December of 2021, solar homeowners in the competitive electricity market could choose a Retail Electricity Provider (REP) to provide them with a plan that mimics net metering, and without additional fees. This is known as a “one for one” plan.
Now those plans are gone.
This forces many solar owners to give away their excess generation at a discounted rate. It erodes your investment in solar.
Just when Texans need more resilient energy, regulators and utilities are making it harder.
The deadly Winter Storm Uri left millions in the dark and cold. Meanwhile, gas companies reported billions of dollars in profits at our expense. And while Texas politicians talk a lot about fixing the grid, little has been done to prevent another disaster. Texans are left paying more for unreliable power.
We can do better
Distributed energy resources, like solar, help our electric grid withstand disasters like Uri. This benefits families that own solar systems and families that don’t.
Keeping energy sources local is more efficient and cost-effective. It lowers the need for long, costly distribution and transmission systems that require expensive upgrades.
Last year’s freeze showed that our electric grid was a bucket with a hole in it. We can either keep filling the bucket with water, by maintaining the status quo and only focusing on energy supply. Or, we can patch the hole with more distributed solar energy.
