Cardinal News: Rooftop Solar Rules Remain Mostly Unchanged for Future Appalachian Power Customers

Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC) ruled that most of Appalachian Power’s regulations for compensating its customers who use solar panels and generate excess power will remain in place, with some minor adjustments. Current rules under “net metering” allow solar panel users to be compensated 17 cents per kilowatt hour by Appalachian Power in excess power generated and given back to the grid which can be used to purchase power in the future. These bill credits may be used by customers within a 12-month period. Customers with leftover bill credits at the end of a 12-month period could carry some of them over to the next period or have Appalachian Power purchase them at 5 cents per kilowatt hour banked.

Appalachian Power argued that compensating customers for excess power generation at full-retail prices unfairly shifted the cost of power generation onto other customers. They proposed compensating all excess generation at 5 cents per kilowatt hour instead. Proponents of solar power argued that the utility’s proposal failed to appreciate the full benefits that solar panels provide for the grid and warned that the changes would disincentivize more customers from installing solar panels in the future.

The SCC ruled against Appalachian Power’s proposal to compensate excess generation at the lowered 5 cent per kilowatt hour rate. However, the SCC did change the rules around carrying over leftover bill credits into a new 12-month period, stipulating that all leftover bill credits will now be purchased by Appalachian Power at a rate of 5.7 cents per kilowatt hour. Read more here.