Current rooftop solar customers would be grandfathered under existing
agreements
Company Website:
http://aps.com
PHOENIX -- (Business Wire)
APS:
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to see a short video about the new era for the electrical grid.
APS requested today that the Arizona Corporation Commission increase the
grid access charge established by the Commission in November 2013 from
70 cents per kilowatt – or approximately $5 per month – to $3 per
kilowatt, or roughly $21 per month for future residential solar
customers. Existing rooftop solar customers would be grandfathered under
the agreements they originally signed.
Highlights of the request:
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The ACC concluded in 2013 that $21 per month would be an appropriate
charge, but initially set the charge at $5 per month with the
acknowledgement that it could be changed in the future.
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Future rooftop solar customers would have the option to choose a
demand-based rate and avoid the grid access charge
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Future rooftop solar customers would still save on their electric bills
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APS is partnering with Arizona-based solar installers to grow the
rooftop solar market
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The request results in no additional revenue for APS
In its 2013 decision, the ACC found that the existing pricing model for
rooftop solar customers was “defective” and “unfair” to non-solar
customers. Commissioners concluded that a monthly charge of $3 per
kilowatt would be “reasonable” to cover the cost to operate and maintain
the electric grid, but decided to move carefully, begin with a smaller
charge of 70 cents per kilowatt and monitor the issue. The ACC
anticipated that adjustments might need to be made before the next APS
rate case, when it can consider comprehensive rate design. The APS
request simply asks the ACC to now implement its 2013 decision.
The APS proposal would not fully resolve the cost shift and is intended
to be an interim solution until the issue is addressed in the next APS
rate case or another proceeding.
“The growth of rooftop solar doesn’t lessen the need for the grid,” said
APS Chairman, President and CEO Don
Brandt. “In fact, it’s just the opposite. The continued growth of
rooftop solar depends on a modern grid that supports the two-way flow of
electricity, accommodates the highly variable nature of solar power
while maintaining reliability and backs up solar power with
fast-starting, flexible conventional power sources.”
If the Commission approves the request, future APS customers who choose
rooftop solar will still save about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour of solar
they produce.
Solar customers also have an option to enroll in the Combined
Advantage rate plan, an existing plan open to all APS residential
customers that includes time-of-use pricing with a demand charge. The
demand charge helps pay for the grid and gives customers control because
the charge is tied to a customer’s energy usage during peak hours.
Customers who add solar and enroll in this rate plan are not subject to
the grid access charge.
Since 2013, the solar market in APS’s service territory has continued to
see high activity. Almost 8,000 customers installed rooftop solar
systems in the APS service territory in 2014, the highest total ever in
one year for the state’s largest electric utility. Currently, APS has
more than 30,000 residential rooftop solar customers.
In addition to its innovative APS
Solar Partner program, which will add solar to about 1,500 customer
homes this year, APS will continue efforts to expand the rooftop solar
market. The company is working with the Arizona Solar Deployment
Alliance, a group representing local solar installers, to develop pilot
projects that offer both new opportunities for customers to go solar and
for APS and industry to partner on important research.
Contrary to the common misperception that rooftop solar customers are
“off the grid,” they actually depend on electricity and other services
from the grid 24 hours a day: in the morning to power appliances before
the sun comes up, in the middle of the day to send excess energy back to
the system and to enable major appliances (such as air conditioners) to
turn on and off, on cloudy or rainy days, when their homes use more
energy than their panels can provide and at night.
“If you don’t use the grid, you shouldn’t have to pay for it, but if you
do, you should pay your fair share. And today, virtually everyone uses
the grid,” said Marc Romito, APS Manager for Renewable Energy.
With more than 60 years of solar leadership and more than $1 billion
invested in solar projects across Arizona, APS’s renewable energy
portfolio contains enough solar to power more than 220,000 homes. With
programs like AZ Sun and APS Solar Partner, and power purchase
agreements with third-party providers like the state-of-the-art Solana
plant, APS’s solar footprint extends well beyond residential rooftop
solar.
APS,
Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves nearly
1.2 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With
headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest principal subsidiary of Pinnacle
West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW)
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Contacts:
APS
Media:
Ray Brooks, 480-349-0715
Jim McDonald,
602-321-3738
Analyst:
Paul Mountain, 602-250-4952
aps.com/newsroom
Source: APS
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