On Oct. 21, Vote Solar and Sierra Club filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) following the partially approved proposal by Idaho Power to reduce compensation rates for customer-generated solar. In this petition, the organizations asked the commission to create a working group to resolve issues with the rooftop solar export rates before the next scheduled review in 2028.
In the final order, the PUC allowed Idaho Power to decrease the solar export rate by 31%, rather than the original 60% the utility requested, and froze any further changes until 2028. This decision impacts over 14,000 households in Idaho who have installed solar after 2019, lowering the price they are paid for the excess solar energy they share back on the grid.
In the petition, the organizations commended the commission for limiting the proposed percentage decrease by Idaho Power; however, they call out the flawed Export Credit Rate (ECR) method used to calculate the solar export rate. The petition calls for the commission to use the time before the next rate update in 2028 to collaboratively improve the ECR methodology.
“Families in Idaho turn to rooftop solar to gain stability and independence from unpredictable and ever-rising utility costs,” said Kate Bowman, Vote Solar’s Interior West senior regulatory director. “Unfortunately, the current solar export rate structure undermines that stability — it’s designed to change from year-to-year and is biased toward utility profits, leaving solar customers exposed to unpredictable energy bills and unfair compensation rates.”
The City of Boise also submitted a Petition for Reconsideration on this case yesterday, asking the PUC to limit this year’s ECR decrease even more and suggesting other improvements to the methodology. All petitions that were submitted by the Oct 21 deadline will appear on this PUC webpage soon. All parties to the case, including Idaho Power and PUC Staff, now have seven days to file a Response to these petitions, if they wish. The PUC will then deliberate and make a final determination on the petitions by Nov 18.
News item from Vote Solar
