Virginia's State Corporation Commission has approved a plan from Appalachian Power to charge homeowners who use solar power systems over 10 kilowatts.
Even with intervention from environmental groups — who had dubbed the regulation a "tax on the sun" — the SCC OK'd the plan that allows "stand-by" fees of up to $100 monthly, "regardless of how much electricity the homeowner actually draws from the grid," noted the consumer website
powerforthepeopleva.com.
The Sierra Club and others had argued via attorneys from the Southern Environmental Law Center that such a charge was misguided. Only five customers will reportedly be impacted by the ruling,
an Appalachian Power spokesman told the Daily Progress.
Some utilities have pushed back against more consumers adopting such power methods amid fears an increase in solar will cost them profits.
Noted the website: "The SCC has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to accept without scrutiny utility assertions that solar customers impose costs on other customers."
By contrast, solar power advocates contend that "solar systems produce power at times of peak demand, reducing the need for utilities to buy expensive peak power, and therefore actually saving them money," the website noted.
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