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The state Public Utilities Commission denied a request last week by a coalition of solar industry groups to raise the interim cap on small-scale rooftop solar photovoltaic systems that export power to the islandwide grid.
Maui Electric Co. reached its 5-megawatt cap in June, which means that those setting up PV systems currently have only the self-supply option. This option enables those applicants to install PV to provide power to the home and energy storage devices, like batteries, and receive power from the grid when needed. But they do not send PV power to the grid and receive compensation.
The request came from PV groups, including the Hawaii PV Coalition, Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Sunpower Corp. and the Alliance for Solar Choice, in May. The groups asked the PUC to increase the cap because of rapid depletion of cap space, the lack of a reliable self-storage option and to provide stability to the solar industry adjusting to the end of the old net metering program in October 2015.
Under the net metering program, small PV customers could sell their excess power to the utility at market rates while still drawing power from the grid at night. Those customers paid only an $18-per-month minimum fee to connect with the power grid.
Concerned about PV capacity on the grid, the PUC set up the PV cap in October 2015 under the "customer grid supply" program, grandfathered applicants already filed under the old net metering program, locked in the PV crediting rate at 23.1 cents per kilowatt hour on Maui and raised the minimum monthly bill to $25, and created the "customer self supply" option once the cap was reached.
In its ruling Dec. 9, the PUC said it set up the customer grid supply and self-supply programs based on the "concerns arising from the uncontrolled growth of energy exports to the grid" under net metering.
"One of the primary reasons for limiting the CGS tariff was to ensure that adequate grid space would be preserved for other renewable energy offerings," the PUC said, noting that the PV coalition's petition did not address this concern.
The PUC also said that a cap increase "would compete with, and potentially reduce, the grid space available for other lower cost or otherwise desirable renewable energy programs."
While denying the request to raise the PV cap, the PUC ordered that Hawaiian Electric Cos. transfer capacity from withdrawn net metering applications to the cap under the customer grid supply terms.
Maui Electric spokeswoman Shayna Decker said this week that the amount of net metering applications and capacity that can be transferred to the cap "will vary depending on how many already approved (net metering) customers choose not to move forward with the installations of their photovoltaic systems."
Now, there are 973 MECO-approved net metering customers who have yet to move forward with PV installations, she said. There are 86 net metering applications that are still in the processing stage on Maui and Molokai.
Approved net metering customers under 10 kilowatts have a year to install their systems, and those over 10 kilowatts, 18 months, Decker said. Approved applicants may receive a one-time extension of 180 days if requested within two months of the deadline.
"We will work with the solar industry to implement the direction given to us by the PUC," Decker said. "We are committed to working with the solar industry to offer our customers more options, while making sure everyone is treated fairly and provided with safe, reliable electric service."
* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.