Solar credit rollback OK'd by regulators
State regulators approved on Jan. 31 a new solar energy policy that will roll back for solar-panel owners the credit they receive for excess power sold to the grid.
Tuesday's action by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, comes a little more than a month after the commission's three members said they needed more time to consider a proposal to change the current net metering regulations.
Now, existing customers and those signing up before 2018 will be grandfathered at the current net-metering policy for 15 years, but those who enter the program after that will get reduced credits, according to the Bangor Daily News.
The final rule didn’t go far enough for Gov. Paul LePage, who said in a statement that the commission “continues to shift the burden away from those who choose to install and have the resources to afford roof-top solar installations” and onto ratepayers and businesses.
Dylan Voorhees, clean energy director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, told the BDN the action was “a roll-back of the one thing that is sustaining some amount of a solar market in the state.
In December, Mainebiz reported that the PUC said it would need more time to decide on the proposed grandfather rule for 15 years net metering credits for existing solar owners, while gradually reducing netting of the transmission and distribution portion of the bill for new customers sign up over the next 10 years — thus gradually changing financial incentives designed to encourage consumers to install solar panels on their homes or small businesses.
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