Public Service Commission comment – Alliant
I am against Alliant’s proposals to raise rates, and their proposal to end net metering.
Eliminating net metering in favor of a complicated “Renewable Power Partnership” is unfair. It’s hardly a “partnership” if solar panel owners are forced into it! AND Alliant wants to increase rates by 19% over two-years, not the 3.1% as they said that they were asking for when they sent out a notice last spring. How is this done in good faith or transparent?
We got tax credits for installing rooftop solar. The federal government under both democrats and republicans have been doing this! They see that we need to make changes to curb climate change. Net metering has been in effect here and in many states. But energy companies complain they are not getting enough profit.
And as I discovered on a recent webinar by Renew Wisconsin, PSC did a study and other studies were conducted that showed that the absolute best way to encourage rooftop solar is net metering! They showed a graph that clearly proved that among other methods, this is the very best way to encourage adoption of rooftop solar. Hawaii was cited as an example of what happens when net metering is eliminated. There is less adoption of the practice now in Hawaii, because there is less certainty in the bills. The solar industry there has suffered as a result. And Hawaii, as we all know gets a LOT of sunshine! Presumably only the rich who are interested in climate change may participate without net metering if they also get batteries to back up their solar, but net metering make it possible for less fortunate to consider it. Renew Wisconsin made a compelling argument that if the PSC wants to make the energy grid more robust, then the PSC would encourage net solar. With net metering, the installation company could predict how much energy we’d produce and how long it would likely take to pay it off. We were told it would take 15 years. Without net metering, no one knows how long it will be, and the energy companies certainly don’t care as evidenced by Alliant’s 29 page statement. It seems as though Alliant is even worse than MGE’s proposal to eliminate net metering for new customers.
We installed our solar panels in 2019, because of net metering. Our installer stated that even with the tax incentives, it would take 15 years to break even. So – does Alliant have any idea when our investment will pay off now? We made an investment, and one of our warranteed panels is problematic, so we continue to pay for them. Alliant argues they invest in the infrastructure, but please don’t forget OUR investment! We assumed that net metering would continue, but were shocked to find out at the MidWest Energy Fair that all the companies are “coming after our net metering.” Alliant sent one notice to tell us they were asking the PSC for what would be “approximately 3.1%” residential rate increase. Nothing was said about eliminating net metering! They have NOT been transparent. Yet, with our September bill, they announced that it was Clean Energy Week From Sept 25-29. If they were truly interested in moving us to net-zero, they wouldn’t pass the bill for eliminating their coal plant, as is part of their justification for raising our rates. They would welcome rooftop solar. They would provide true net metering, at the cost of the going rate for the price of energy, not charge us .13091 and return .07069; however, I am happy that we went up from earning .02814 in 2022. That was a very good raise.
Time of use is very difficult to use. We have friends who were forced into a time of use arrangement over each day. This would be for each HOUR, as I understand their complicated explanation. It is not fair to have to do as they did and check the sunshine before doing a load of wash or dishes, turning up or down their electric heat/AC depending on the sun. It was very frustrating and they were very happy when after lobbying their cooperative, they got net metering over the entire YEAR! We just want net metering for the month to continue. I was gratified to hear from a recent webinar that net metering encourages customers to use their energy more efficiently throughout the day.
I understand Alliant’s argument that they don’t need this “excess” energy produced by personal rooftop solar as much during the day when it is sunshining, and can “overload” their equipment. I question this. We were told at the Energy Fair, that in fact, our excess energy goes to our neighbors!! That’s not too hard on their equipment. Businesses and residents use a lot of energy during the day. Alliant complains that more of us have acquired rooftop solar and this is cutting into their profits! Upon reading their statement, it seems clear that Alliant has researched and sought every possible method they could think of to make it more profitable for them.
Their ten percent profit is already too much. As the Citizens Utility Board has stated, it is” higher than the national average and is more than is needed to attract capital on Wall Street. But it’s also proposing a backend way of increasing profit dollars by modifying its capital structure change!”
In short, their “partnership” is cumbersome, complicated, and unfair to those of us who made investments in trying to help the energy crisis and climate change by buying solar panels, and as a result of fewer interested residents/ potential customers, this proposal will stifle the local solar panel production industry.
Eliminating net metering would also mean diminished access to rooftop solar for future customers, further widening the clean energy access and equity gap we are fighting to eliminate. All Wisconsinites should benefit from our state’s clean energy transition - now is not the time to derail the progress made on distributed solar.
Please do NOT approve these high (19%) rate increases, and do NOT approve the elimination of net metering. Their arguments are all about the profit they should earn, and their investments. CUB reports that Alliant’s Wisconsin utility reported 2022 profit of $350 million in 2022, and another $88 million so far this year. Thus, they can afford to keep rates stable. They have NO competition. You are our only hope for help!
And, according to CUB, Alliant wants low-income folks to apply for state energy assistance, presumably so that taxpayers will pay more to provide the assistance? Why doesn’t Alliant have to modify rates so that all of us can afford them?