After surge before new rules, solar installations in Utah slip 23{0b7da518931e2dc7f5435818fa9adcc81ac764ac1dff918ce2cdfc05099e9974}

SALT LAKE CITY — Are fewer Utahns choosing to take the clean energy plunge or did new rule changes prompt a spike in the volume of new solar households in the Beehive State?

A report from the Utah Public Service Commission indicated a 23 percent decline in the number of customers installing rooftop solar at their homes this year. While some observers think the decrease was the result of lower demand for rooftop solar systems, at least one analyst believes it may have been clean energy proponents taking advantage of existing standards in order to beat an impending November 2017 deadline.

According to Public Service Commission Administrator Gary Widenburg, customers who installed rooftop solar prior to the fall 2017 deadline would be “grandfathered” under existing laws allowing them to receive some benefits that offset the cost of installation.

“Some people rushed to get their installations done,” he said. “Now, several months later, things have settled down a little bit. Once that November date, passed, people who were going to have systems installed early did so and others are just planning accordingly.”

He said the decline seemed to be more because of the deadline rather than decreasing overall demand for rooftop solar.

“I think there was an increase in applications and (installation) activity,” he added. “People who were thinking about doing it and were in a position to do so took advantage of that ‘grandfather date’ and jumped in.”

Under net metering, utilities paid solar producers the market rate for any excess energy they sent to the grid. Also, those customers were allowed to use those credits to lower their power bill when they weren’t generating as much solar energy.

Utah Clean Energy estimated the number of Rocky Mountain Power customers with rooftop solar participating in the net-metering program at approximately 30,000.

Previously, expiring net-metering credits had their value rolled over to Rocky Mountain Power, giving those households significant savings on their monthly bill, explained Brandi Smith with Utah Clean Energy. Now those credits expire annually, she noted.

“Having your net-metering credits expire every year has never been very popular with many rooftop solar customers,” she said.

The director of the state Office of Consumer Services said the initial decision to use the credits for energy programs to promote solar energy among low-income customers did not adequately attend to the needs of those households. However, Michele Beck, along with Utah Clean Energy, voiced strong support for initiatives aimed at helping Utah families who live in inefficient homes and are unable to afford the weatherization services to update their properties.

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“We didn’t object to having (credits) offset the costs of the low-income rate program,” she said. But the effort did not have as great an impact as it could have, she said.

“Weatherization creates incremental value for low-income customers, which is more consistent with the intent of those who supported that legislation,” Beck said. “(The expiring credits) will help more customers by going to weatherization than by going to a solar pilot (program).”

When contacted about the decline in rooftop solar and use of expiring credits, Rocky Mountain Power declined to comment.