In Pennsylvania, Legislature and Public Utility Commission Pave the Way to Innovative Ratemaking

In recent years, many states have grappled with the challenge of balancing the interests of regulated energy utilities to earn revenue by selling power with the public policy goal of reducing energy consumption.  To meet this challenge, more than 30 states in the U.S. have successfully used innovative utility rates, termed “alternative ratemaking,” to better align utility financial incentives with the public policy goal of increasing energy efficiency and distributed energy resources. Research by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy shows that states with alternative ratemaking policies achieve 50% higher savings from their energy efficiency programs.  Following two recent actions, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is now poised to take advantage of these tools as well.

Pennsylvania’s SREC Fix Hits A Snag

Last fall, Pennsylvania lawmakers set out to fix a problem with the state’s 2004 Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS).

No, the problem they took on with Act 40 of 2017 was not the weakness of the renewable energy targets in the AEPS. (Those targets still have not been updated since 2004). Act 40 addressed the “oversupplied” state of Pennsylvania’s Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) market. Before Act 40, the AEPS gave solar projects located throughout the PJM region (which stretches as far west as Illinois and as far south as North Carolina) the unqualified right to sell SRECs in Pennsylvania. The resulting glut of SRECs led to depressed SREC prices, which has made solar development less economical in the state. Act 40’s fix was to establish new, more restrictive SREC eligibility criteria in order to spur more in-state solar photovoltaic (PV) development, and thereby deliver more clean air benefits to Pennsylvanians.

Q&A: Law Change Expected to Boost Pennsylvania’s Solar Industry

A recent change to Pennsylvania law is expected to give a boost to the state’s solar industry.

On Oct. 30, Governor Tom Wolf signed a bill that will provide more protection for home-grown projects and prevent out-of-state solar power from affecting Pennsylvania’s marketplace for alternative energy.

StateImpact Pennsylvania discussed the significance of the change with Christina Simeone, Director of Policy and External Affairs for the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gov. Wolf Uses Elizabethtown College's Solar Field to Tout New Law to Boost In-State Solar

With Elizabethtown College’s large solar array as a backdrop, Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday called new state legislation designed to boost renewable solar energy a “game-changer.”

Last week, Wolf signed into law changes to the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, which since 2005 have required an increasing percentage of electricity used in Pennsylvania to be produced from alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, biofuels and methane captured from landfills.

PUC to Adopt Changes to its Alternative Energy Regulation

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted unanimously today to adopt changes to its alternative energy regulations including controversial new limits on who can qualify for incentive payments for selling their extra alternative energy to the grid.

Contested sections of the regulations exclude some classes of alternative energy generators from net metering, a process that allows electricity customers who generate power from sources like solar panels and landfill gas to get retail rates when they make more electricity than they use.

Advocates Back Bill to Prevent Limits on Reimbursements for Alternative Energy in Pennsylvania

Advocates of turning cow manure and other waste into energy are backing a bill introduced in the Pennsylvania House that would forbid putting caps on how much electricity those systems can sell to the grid.

The bill is aimed at a proposal still being developed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission meant to limit reimbursements to customers who generate power from alternative sources — a dairy farmer with a methane digester, for example, or a homeowner with solar panels on the roof.

House Passes Bill Promoting Wind Energy Expansion In Pennsylvania

State Representative Curt Sonney (R-Harborcreek, 4th District) authored House Bill 188. It passed Wednesday in the Pennsylvania House with flying colors: 194 to 1.

The bill was first introduced 4 years ago, and did pass the House, but never made it onto the governor's desk.

In a statement Wednesday, Rep. Sonney said:

"I am hoping this is the first step toward eventually advancing the bill to Governor Tom Wolf's desk for his signature. Under existing law, owners of preserved farm land may grant a right-of-way for the installation, transportation or use of water, sewage, electric, telephone, coal or non-coal minerals by underground mining methods. It's simply common sense to allow them this additional use of their property."