Five climate and energy-conservation groups took legal action in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge an Arizona public power utility’s discrimination against rooftop-solar customers.
The Salt River Project, a public power utility in Arizona, raised electricity rates for rooftop-solar customers by 60%. In response, rooftop-solar customers challenged the utility for the discriminatory rates that penalize them, in violation of the antitrust laws. A lower court dismissed the case on antitrust injury grounds. Today’s amicus brief opposes the dismissal and urges the appeals court to remand the case back to the lower court to address the utility’s antitrust violations.
“The Salt River Project’s discriminatory rates unlawfully penalize families who embrace solar energy and want to protect Arizona’s air quality,” said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s energy justice program. “It’s outrageous that fossil fuel utilities like Salt River are using anticompetitive tactics to strangle rooftop solar and protect their profits. Especially in this era of COVID-19 and the climate emergency, these dinosaur utilities must be stopped from obstructing energy resilience and our desperately needed transition to a clean and just energy system.”
“Renewables are the future and fossil fuel companies know it,” said Marcie Keever, legal director for Friends of the Earth. “These dirty corporations are so intent on protecting their own profits that they’ve resorted to illegal tactics to try and stop clean energy innovations. To create an equitable energy future based on renewable sources, we must oppose the illegal protections utilities use to defend fossil fuels.”
“The Salt River power company is attempting to stifle renewable energy for its own financial gain, but punishing homeowners for going solar is shortsighted and reckless,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “Too many elected officials receive contributions from the fossil fuel companies to look the other way. It’s critical that the courts weigh in and put a stop to these illegal and immoral practices. Solar energy is critical for the future of this planet. We must transition off of fossil fuels, starting now.”
“The case for preserving an electric utility’s monopoly over electricity generation died with federally induced wholesale competition in the late 1970s and with the recent advent of customer-owned and cost-effective rooftop solar,” said John Farrell, director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “The 9th Circuit should permanently bury it in 2020.”
News item from the Center for Biological Diversity
Gay L. Dybwad says
We recently had a Tesla solar system installed at our home in April, 2021. SRP required the installation of 9 new boxes on our outside wall where 2 would have been the standard in several states! Tesla has taken SRP to court before for discriminatory practices trying to protect SRP’s own installed infrastructure. I hope that Tesla will take them back to court again for requiring daunting and EXPENSIVE install practices and delays in permit approvals that greatly discourage home power generation. G. Dybwad, Pinal County, AZ
Karen Adamson says
I have solar panels but SRP was making the on and off peak hours ridiculously long that in the summer the panels were not saving me money. How can someone go without air conditioning for 6 hours (2PM-8PM) in Arizona during the summer?
So they installed several more panels and a battery from solar edge. SRP inspected it and for several months now I have been paying SRP for electricity because I am on STANDBY MODE. I have a loan for the solar panels that I have to pay. So I am paying $300 electric bill and another $120. I am expecting this months bill to be even higher than last months. I AM NOT VERY HAPPY.
Not one word from SRP as to why it doesn’t pass their inspection.
There has got to be a way stop this. This should be illegal.
I am a 78 year old that is on a fixed income. SRP is making my life difficult and I do feel like I am being punished for going solar.
Everything has its time and place and fossil fuel has come to its end and should bow out gracefully not make a stink. Maybe they will blame it on COVID. Why else would this company not call me and let me know why I can’t use my solar panels? Very un-professional. Very selfish and very greedy of SRP.
I apologize for bad grammar or not making myself clear but I do have a new kitten that has a radar (not kidding) and I can’t do anything without her.
Solarman says
Basically, SRP is “considered” a public power agency. In this determination, SRP is headed by a ratepayer board of directors, (elected) by the ratepayers. The problem here is prejudice against the ever present residential solar PV cutting into electricity sales for SRP and “lost revenues”. SRPs major problem is although it is a special district and not regulated by the ACC directly, it is regulated by the board of directors. Unfortunately some time in the past, (votes) are aligned to amount of property one owns in the SRP sphere of influence. Cattlemen and Farmers control SRP and its policies. As a homeowner, you probably get one vote, as a farmer or cattleman, you may get 10,000 votes.
One has many technological remedies to an Oligarchy of sorts that tries its best to kill solar PV as an energy choice of the citizenry. People can buy into currently new technology. SolarEdge just announced its energy hub, where the solar PV array can charge a HVDC battery pack and the interactive SolarEdge inverter can monitor and interact with the grid to insulate the solar PV adopter from rate spiking programs and rate usury.
If all else fails, split off the home’s Circuit breaker panel into a secondary “critical circuit” panel. Drive the secondary panel all of the time with solar PV and battery backup as an “off grid” system. If the solar PV system faults out or needs maintenance or repair. Use a break before make manual transfer switch and switch the secondary C.B. panel to utility power. No co-mingling of systems or voltages, no need to “register” as grid tied and NO legitimate reason for SRP to charge you more for having solar PV on your roof.