Proposed changes for residential solar customers

As a community-owned, not-for-profit utility, we design rates solely to recover the cost of providing service—nothing more. This means we do not generate profits for shareholders. Instead, our goal is to ensure that each customer class (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) pays its fair share of the costs required to deliver reliable electric service, maintain infrastructure and support system operations.

For net metering customers, this includes the cost of maintaining the grid that supports energy exchange and ensures electricity is available 24/7—even when solar production is low or nonexistent.

Under the current Net Metering structure, solar customers are billed at a flat rate that doesn’t account for the higher costs of electricity during peak demand hours, typically from 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays. During these hours, the cost to generate, purchase and deliver electricity is significantly higher, but solar production is typically low or nonexistent.

Because solar customers still rely on the grid during these peak times but aren’t charged rates that reflect those costs, the difference — about $600 per year per solar customer — is effectively being covered by non-solar customers. This cost shift means that customers without solar are paying more to maintain grid reliability and meet peak demand, even though they don’t benefit from net metering credits.

We’ve seen a significant increase in solar adoption, about 1,000 new Net Metering customers annually, prompting us to address the cost-shifting.

No, rate structures are not guaranteed under a Net Metering Agreement. The agreement only covers how your solar system connects to the grid—it does not lock in future electric rates or rate designs. While your solar interconnection remains valid, the prices and rate structures you pay for electricity may change in the future.