Idaho Power tries to lower more than 60% on the roof solar compensation

Idaho Power has submitted a new application to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reduce the compensation roof of compensation on the roof for the surplus electricity they send to the grid. Known as Export Credit Rates (ECRs), these payments are the financial backbone of home investments in the house. Under the proposed changes, ECRs could fall more than 60% – which makes solar energy much less viable, just as the rates of the use continue to rise.

The last proposal from Idaho Power to the Public Utilities Commission would drop a fee for solar export of 6.18 ¢/kWh – a rate that only came into force in January 2024 – up to an average of 2.46 ¢/kWh per year. That is a reduction of 72% compared to the previous standard percentage of 8.8 ¢/kWh, which had been present for more than ten years.

If approved, these new rates would come into effect on 1 June, exactly if Idaho will start the Topzonese season. From October to May, Idaho Power Solar -owners want to pay less than 1 ¢/kWh – a decrease of 80% – even if it charges customers at least 8 ¢/kWh for the same electricity.

This is all part of the new “Net Billing” program of the utility, which the PUC approved in December 2023. With the program, ECRs can be calculated again every year, making potential solar customers in the dark about their efficiency on the investment. This financial uncertainty is an important barrier for adoption.

Idaho Power bases his calculations on his own internal 2022 “Value of Distributed Energy Resources Study.” The Idaho Conservation League (ICL) and other organizations have hired an independent expert to assess this study and discovered that Idaho Power is considerably undervalued of solar energy on the roof considerably undervaluation by picking data and using lack of methods.