What is happening
We should be able to choose where our energy comes from and many of us are choosing solar – but now, monopoly utility Idaho Power wants to stop us.
They’re asking state regulators to take away the fair credit solar owners earn from the extra electricity they generate, called net metering. If we let them have their way, it sets a bad precedent for the value of local solar, makes it harder for more people to go solar and it opens the door for other Oregon utilities to follow suit.
Rooftop solar is an easy and affordable way to lower your electricity bill and produce clean energy. With high energy prices, it’s no surprise that solar is rapidly becoming a popular solution for Oregonians.
This spark of growth has caught the attention of Idaho Power. The monopoly utility has filed a proposal with utility regulators in Oregon that drastically cuts the fair credit solar owners receive for any excess energy they produce and share with their neighbors. This bill crediting process is known as “net metering.”
Net metering is an electric billing tool that uses the electric grid to “store” excess energy produced by your solar panel system. Under net metering, the energy produced by your solar panels that you don’t use is credited back to you.
Why slashing net metering will stop solar from thriving
The proposed changes to net metering will prevent many families and small businesses from reaping the benefits of going solar and hurt the investments of current solar owners who installed systems after December 2019.
If approved by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission, the proposal would:
- Unfairly punish local solar owners for generating reliable electricity for themselves and their communities
- Neglect solar customers who invested in clean energy
- Severely reduce the value of net metering credits
- Make it harder to and more expensive to go solar
- Create a confusing and onerous billing system for customers
- Hurt residential solar customers who installed solar after 2019
Fighting for a fair net metering policy helps keep solar affordable and accessible. Your action today protects energy freedom and your right to produce locally-owned solar energy.
