January 22, 2018
Deadline is January 26th!!
Make your voices heard! Please visit donttakemysunshine.com and TAKE ACTION.
Call your commissioner, and other commissioners! Let them know that you value the future and expect them to vote for the future of Louisiana, not the past! Ask them to protect your rights to solar and energy independence through Net Metering!
Louisiana’s energy freedom is under attack again as new rules to end solar Net Metering for Louisiana residents are proposed to the Louisiana Public Service Commissioners.
The proposed new rule eliminates the 1-for-1 credit that people with solar panels get from their utility company for producing clean energy and delivering it to the grid. Without the credit utilities can take the energy generated on private property, at below market value, and re-sell it for a profit. They can also charge additional fees, allowing costs to vary widely by utility, leaving customers and businesses with no statewide standard to rely on. The Louisiana PSC has opened a period for public comment on this proposal which closes on January 26th!
The proposed new rule eliminates the 1-for-1 credit that people with solar panels get from their utility company for producing clean energy and delivering it to the grid. Without the credit utilities can take the energy generated on private property, at below market value, and re-sell it for a profit. They can also charge additional fees, allowing costs to vary widely by utility, leaving customers and businesses with no statewide standard to rely on. The Louisiana PSC has opened a period for public comment on this proposal which closes on January 26th!
Net metering allows residential energy consumers to get credit for the energy they produce on their property. Say a homeowner has installed solar panels on the roof of their home, yet does not use all of the energy that the solar panels produce every month. Net metering enables the homeowner to get credit for the excess energy from their energy provider.
The current rules
Currently, our net metering rules allow for a homeowner to utilize all of the power their solar panels generate and then receive credit at a wholesale rate or ‘avoided cost’ for any excess energy. The rules also include a grandfathering clause which locks in the rates, for the excess energy, for the life of the system. Meaning, if the homeowner installed solar panels with the understanding that they would receive a 1-for-1 kWh credit for each kWh excess their system produced, that 1-for-1 credit is locked in for the life of their solar panels.
The changes
The proposed change has the potential to eliminate net metering all together, opening the door for a ‘Buy all, Sell all’ market meaning that the homeowner would be forced to sell all of the energy his solar panels produce to his utility at avoided cost and then buy all of the energy his family uses at the standard retail rate. This would also apply to existing solar customers as the proposal only includes a grandfathering clause for five years. So even though the homeowner made an investment based on a certain understanding, the new rules are poised to turn the tables on him to where his investment may not ‘pencil out’.
Contact your Commissioners
The LPSC wants to protect citizens, call your Commissioner and express your concerns! Ask them to protect your right to solar and energy independence through Net Metering.
District 1 - Commissioner Eric Skrmetta Metairie Phone: 504-846-6930 Mandeville Phone: 985-624-4660 Toll-free: 800-228-9368 District 2 - Commissioner Craig Greene Baton Rouge Phone: 225-765-5031 Toll-free: 800-256-6004 Lafayette Phone: 337-262-5380 District 3 - Commissioner Lambert C. Boissiere, III New Orleans Phone: 504-680-9529 Toll-free: 800-256-2413 Baton Rouge Phone: 225-342-6687 Toll-free: 800-256-2413 District 4 - Commissioner Mike Francis Crowley Phone: 337-514-2000 Toll-free: 800-256-2490 District 5 - Commissioner Foster L. Campbell Shreveport Phone: 318-676-7464 Toll-free 800-256-2412 Monroe Phone: 318-362-3318 Toll-free 866-290-0468 Ferriday Phone: 318-757-3206 Toll-free 866-290-0468 |  |
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