The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a solar industry-backed measure that would have let voters decide how customers are paid for the electricity they put back on the grid.
The November referendum would have allowed voters to overturn a Public Utilities Commission (PUC) decision from late last year that gutted the state’s net metering program — a rate design element that ensures solar owners are paid retail rate for the electricity they put back on the grid.
The court ruled that the description included in the referendum was “inaccurate,” “misleading,” and “argumentative,” the AP reported.
But the industry was not bowed after the ruling, saying it would continue to fight to set fair rates for solar homeowners.
Solar Customers In Nevada Are Getting A Rate Hike For ChristmasLast year, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada issued a report finding that rooftop solar customers actually give back more to the grid…thinkprogress.org“While we’re disappointed that the Court ruled in such a way that the people of Nevada will not be able to vote on this issue, it clarifies the role Nevada’s leadership must play in representing the majority of Nevadans who want to bring solar back to Nevada,” Erin McCann, campaign manager for Bring Back Solar, an advocacy group, said in a statement emailed to ThinkProgress. “Working together with legislators, key stakeholders, and Nevada’s hundreds of thousands of solar supporters, we look forward to crafting strong solar policies that give Nevadans the freedom to power their homes and communities with clean solar energy,” she said.
The industry has powerful allies. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has proposed amendments to the federal energy bill that would require electricity regulators to account for the value of solar in their rate-making process. But Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), who appoints PUC commissioners, has been accused of having ties to NV Energy, the state’s biggest utility and an opponent of retail-rate net metering.
But solar has been wildly popular among everyday Nevadans.
While the PUC was considering the rate structure, rallies to support net metering attracted hundreds of people to downtown Las Vegas. Electricity rates, needless to say, do not usually attract broad attention.
Last year, the state ranked third nationally in new solar installations, and nearly 9,000 people work in solar in the state, according to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Solar Foundation.
But the PUC decision last year was a massive blow to the industry — and to the homeowners who had installed solar thinking they would be paid at retail rates for the electricity they produced. The PUC’s decision to cut net metering rates from retail to wholesale was especially criticized for not grandfathering current customers into the previous rate structure.
Sandoval’s renewable energy task force has recommended that the PUC reverse that part of the decision.
Last week, an outgoing PUC member said that the solar industry’s heavy-handed negotiation tactics had played a role in the commission’s rejection of net metering.
“One of the problems in the case before us is the rooftop solar companies decided to take an approach of an all-or-nothing, and basically promoted that there should be no change from retail rates,” David Noble said at a conference for regulators. “When you take an all-or-nothing approach there’s a possibility you’re going to lose and that’s exactly what happened because they put on an inferior case.”