2015 Session Update

Budget impasse spawns special session (30 day)Solar incentive bill unable to move so farRepublican carbon reduction bill not movingPassage of those two bills may be linked

HB 1096 Net Metering Changes XHB 1097 Incentive Program Changes XHB 1927 Incentive Program Changes & Net Metering Changes XHB 2045 Net Metering Changes & Incentive Program Changes XSB 5892 Incentive Program Changes & Net Metering Changes XSB 5414 Solar Shade Control XSB 5263 Condos Can’t Say No to Solar X

2015 Solar Bills

SHB 1912 emerges, is still viable.

Go to www.leg.wa.govClick Find Bills, enter the bill number (1912), then look for ‘Committee Materials’ for the April 15 hearing. Click on the bill and then on Amd / Proposed Subs. The first 8 amendments constitute the bill. The ninth amendment is HB 1927

To Find the Bill

HB 1301 + HB 2176 = SB 6541 SB 5892 SSB 5892 HB 1096HB 1097 + HB 2045 = SHB 2045 PSHB 1912 HB 1927HB 1301 and 1097 concern the incentive programHB 2176 and 1096 concern net meteringSHB2045 combined the two bills (utility ask)SHB 1912 concerns the incentive program.

Bill Lineage

…so, what’s up with Net Metering?

1978 – Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act provides for customer generators 1983 – Minnesota passes NEM law1996 – NEM law passed in WA2012 – Discussions of cost-shifting arise2013 – WA threshold is reached at some utilities and is fast approaching at others2013 – California AB 327 opens the door to an alternative to NEM2014 – APS and SolarCity lock horns over proposed $50 solar fee2014-2015 – Other utilities are changing the rules, rates, and fees for DG2014 – WA NEM minimum threshold raised from 0.25% to 0.5% of peak 1996 load2014 – WA utilities propose changes to law2015 – Discussions between customer generators and utilities continue

A Brief NEM History

In the early days of NEM, residential system sizes were smaller, and not typically generating many, if any, credits on a bill.

Today, systems are bigger and more customers are carrying credits over the sunny period into the darker one.

If you wanted to store summer production and use it in the winter, you would need one really, really expensive battery

To a customer generator, the grid has value:•On a daily basis to ‘firm up’ intermittent generation•On an seasonal basis to supply peak loads•As a storage ‘device’

To a utility, customer generation has value:•To offset the need for some additional generation•To conserve water for hydropower during the dry season•For grid support •To replace retiring fossil or nuclear generation

Q: How are those values reflected in utility rates?A: It depends on where you are.

Washington has over 60 electric utilities ranging in size from a few hundred customers to over 1 million.

Residential electricity rates also vary widely, from 1.2 cents to 13 cents

Washington Electricity Rates - 2015Name Resi Charge Resi Rate 1 Resi Rate 2 Comm Basic Comm 1 Comm 2 Demand Green RateGrays Harbor Co. PUD #1 39.55 / Mo 0.0121 0.085 48.43 / 75.58 min 0.0866 0.0522 10.37 / kWDouglas Co. PUD 0.333 / day 0.0233 0.333 / day 0.0233 1.40 / kW > 50 kW 0.075Chelan Co. PUD 7.70 / Mo 0.027 16.90 / 25.35 / Mo 0.027 0.0235 2.40 / kW > 40 kWOkanagan Co. PUD #1 35.00 / Mo 0.0435 0.06316 40.00 / Mo 0.05308 5.50 / kW > 50 kWGrant Co. PUD #2 0.49 / day or $20 0.04406 0.59 / 0.90 / day 0.041 0.0383 4.05 / kW > 100 kW 0.02Lewis Co. PUD #1 0.55 / Day 0.05356 0.55 / 1.17 / Day 0.05461 0.03653 0.02Seattle City Light 0.1451 / day 0.0557 0.1189 .085 / day 0.0634 2.24 / kWCowlitz Co. PUD #1 17.00 / Mo 0.0611 104.00 / Mo 0.0508 6.37 / kWPacific Power 7.75 / Mo 0.06199 0.09817 105+11 / kW / Yr 0.1036 0.0716 3.61 / kW > 15 kWEllensburg P&L 0.5753 / day 0.0626 0.068 0.6145 / 1.2757 / day 0.0492 1.64 / 3.69 / kWInland P&L 19.23 / Mo 0.0634 19.23 / 28.21 / Mo 0.0674 6.00 / kw > 50 kWPacific Co. PUD#2 0 0.0649 21 /29 / Mo 0.0712 0.77 / kW > 50 kWMason Co. PUD #3 0.9 / day 0.0672 1.12 / 1.4 / day 0.0736 0.01Peninsula Light 17.50 / Mo 0.068 0.0729 17.50 / 34.00 / Mo 0.04786 7.97 / kWBenton Co. PUD #1 11.05 / Mo 0.0684 17.55 / 26.35 / Mo 0.0485 0.0569 8.36 / kW > 50 kWClallam Co. PUD #1 0.766 / day 0.0693 1.78 / day 0.0533 2.87 / kW 0.017Franklin Co. PUD 22.09 / Mo 0.0711 48.57 / Mo 0.03865 7.73 / kWSkamania Co. PUD #1 13.77 / Mo 0.0744 13.77 / 40.76 / Mo 0.0744 5.34 > 35 kWMason Co. PUD #1 23.66 / Mo 0.075 35.76 / 41.16 / Mo 0.081Okanagan Co. Electric Co-op 36.50 / Mo 0.075 39.00 / 55.00 / Mo 0.0595 0.046 1.00 - 3.00 / kWAvista Corp 8.50 / Mo 0.07525 0.08755 18.00 / Mo 0.11507 0.08455 6.00 / kW > 20 kWTacoma Power 5.50 / Mo 0.0769 9.00 / 46.00 / Mo 0.03946 7.30 / kWFerry Co. PUD 17.00 / Mo 0.07828 17.00 / 52.00 / Mo 0.08706Clark Co. PUD #1 12.00 / Mo 0.0816 25.00 / Mo 0.077 6.77 / kW > 30 0.015Klickitat Co. PUD #1 17.58 / Mo 0.082 44.47 / Mo 0.0621 0.0408 6.11 / kW > 25 kWJefferson Co. PUD #1 7.49 / Mo 0.085011 0.103589 51.67 / Mo 0.094791 0.06928 9.01 > 50 kWOPALCO 38.90 / Mo 0.0855 0.097 54.90 / Mo 0.087 0.097 5.00 / Mo Kittitas Co. PUD #1 18.00 / Mo 0.0875 30.00 / Mo 0.0846 0.048 5.50 / kW > 50 kWSnohomish Co. PUD #1 0.48 / day or-> 0.0926 0.0816 0.064 4.20 / Mo > 100 kWTanner Electric Co-op 19.50 / Mo 0.0998 19.50 / 32.05 / Mo 0.0922 0.0796 6.00 / kW > 40 kWPuget Sound Energy 7.87 / Mo 0.1004 0.119208 54.27 / Mo 0.0936 0.0678 9.02 / kW > 50 kW 0.0125Benton REALakeview Light & Power 18.50 / Mo 0.075 45.00 / Mo 0.085

Example:In Grays Harbor County your basic monthly charge is $39.55, and the first tier rate is a little over one cent. In PSE territory your basic monthly charge is $7.87, and the first tier rate is a little over ten cents. Which utility customer has more incentive to conserve or produce electricity?

Example:PSE , where rates are highest, considers solar generation to have less value than retail rates. Chelan PUD, where rates are very low, considers solar generation to have more value than retail rates.In short, there is no one-size-fits-all program for customer generation.

There are reasons that utility rates and charges are what they are and, until recently, solar customer generation was not among those factors affecting rates. There is still very little solar in Washington, but if you were designing electricity rates to accommodate a significant amount of solar, what would you consider to be fair and equitable? What would you ask of the customer who has reduced their usage through conservation and efficiency?

As these challenges are being met where there is a lot of solar, smart inverters, short-term customer-side storage, and smart grid technology are all finding a place in the grid of the future. Who should be paying for this new technology?

Conclusions & Challenges