JEA Planning Solar Policy Changes

[TheCat]

The issue: Solar power creators are transferring energy to the grid at a whole sale rate but charged a retail rate. So, when the net calculations are made (power-in to power-out) solar power creators feel ripped off.

The business relationship between JEA and its customers who use solar panels to generate electricity brought about 50 advocates for solar energy to the utility's board of directors meeting Tuesday.
JEA is in the process of modifying its solar energy strategy, which includes the Net Metering and Distributed Generation Policies involving the utility buying excess power generated by private solar panel owners.

When solar panels installed on homes or businesses generate more electricity than is needed, JEA collects the excess electrons through a two-way electric meter. Those electrons are then sent to JEA's power grid.

Solar system suppliers and owners are concerned that JEA purchases the excess electricity at wholesale prices, but charges customers the retail price for electricity the utility provides.

The big question for JEA is the fair value of electricity generated by a private solar system compared to JEA's cost to generate and deliver the same amount of electricity.

Mike Anthiel, executive director of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association, described JEA's proposal under review as "an attack on residential solar."

Melissa Dykes, JEA chief financial officer, reported the utility has been working for a month with stakeholders, including the Sierra Club, U.S. Green Building Council, local solar energy contractors and home energy designers to develop policies for net metering.

That's the process by which JEA bills customers for their net usage of electricity based on how much is supplied by the utility and how much is transferred to JEA by the customer's solar system.

Dykes said electricity can be generated by a home solar panel for about 25 percent of the cost of the same amount of electricity provided by JEA, taking into account the cost of generation plus infrastructure expenses.

While the solar panel transfers excess electricity at its location directly into the grid, JEA's costs include fuels used at power plants, transmission lines, transformers, substations and other operating costs, such as payroll and benefits for employees.

"It's like comparing apples to peanuts," said Dykes.

A question in terms of the value of excess electricity JEA purchases from private solar panels is when it's available.

Since the energy cannot be stored, it is transferred to the grid when it's available, which is not during JEA's peak demand periods.

Dykes said peak demand in summer is early evening, when people get home and begin using electricity for air-conditioning, cooking and laundry.

[spuwho]

The paying of wholesale rates to consumer energy sources has been a hot topic in solar circles for years.

California passed a proposition that utilities have to pay retail rates for energy put back on the grid. PG&E has been trying to get it overturned because it essentially has them covering the consumers capital depreciation of the panels, but they get nothing in return. (Actually they do, they can defer new expediture) Solar take rates since the prop passed is the highest in the US. But PG&E says they dont have the money to update their grid now, because too much is going the panel owners.

Hawaii Power after several court battles, finally lost the right to forbid solar panels. HP has the most expensive power in the US. Then they tried to slow it down by charging a huge "connection fee". That got overturned. Then they claimed that they had to certify the installers for "safety reasons" and that individual panels made the grid "unsafe". That got over ruled. Then they tried to put quotas on how many could be installed. They got that for 1 year.

Florida desperately needs their PUC to revise the energy reimbursement rates for non-commercial sources. At current wholesale rates it usually takes 17 to 22 years to recover your expenses, while I dont think we should go as far as paying retail rates like California permits, but getting the recovery time below 15 years is completely reasonable.