The rooftop solar scrum continues in Nevada courtroom, following news The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) filed suit against the Nevada Public Utilities Commission on Friday last week.
According to UtilityDIVE, TASC’s lawsuit seeks to overturn the PUC’s recent decision lowering net metering rates and increasing fixed charges.
The lawsuit alleges the decision by the NPUC to lower the remuneration rate for solar customer and refusal to grandfather existing rooftop solar users at their original favors utility NV Energy at the expense of solar companies and their customers.
According to TASC, the PUC ruling “puts a stake in the heart of future rooftop solar development,” as evidenced by the exit of three major rooftop solar developers, including SolarCity, Sunrun, and Vivint.
One of TASC’s core issues concerns supporting competitive markets:
“Today, most electric utilities operate as monopolies with the power to dictate prices and limit customer choice. Establishing competitive electricity markets in the United States can provide consumers with choices and drive down prices. In competitive markets, no single seller can set price and hold consumers captive.”
The new Nevada net metering policy dramatically reduces the remuneration rate for rooftop solar customers from the retail rate to the wholesale rate. It also creates a separate rate class for small commercial and residential solar users and establishes a time-of-use pricing option for all customers that will be gradually implemented over 12 years.
Following the original NPUC net metering decision in December, large solar developers SolarCity and Sunrun ceased operations in the state, eliminating more than 600 jobs. Vivint Solar completed its Nevada work last August.
A group of rooftop solar customers has also filed a class action lawsuit against NV Energy.
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