Today a coalition of solar and environmental groups filed an emergency motion with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to prevent utility company Ameren from devastating rooftop solar in southern and central Illinois. This comes just as Ameren filed an Integrated Resource Plan that would add more utility-scale solar and wind projects than ever before.
Last week, Ameren told the Commission it intends to eliminate fair compensation for the solar energy homeowners and families produce. Ameren would slash the credits solar customers receive for excess clean energy, a foundational policy known as net metering, as soon as October 1.
The abrupt move would cost the average residential solar customer hundreds of dollars per year, wiping out savings on energy bills and putting solar projects out of reach for many consumers. Ending the policy early impacts every new solar customer in Ameren territory as well as hundreds that have already committed to install solar but now won’t receive the full savings they signed up for. Ameren’s move would disrupt the solar group purchasing programs currently being sponsored by municipalities and advocacy groups in Champaign-Urbana, Carbondale and several Metro East counties that were expected to drive numerous residents to purchase new solar systems during the month of October.
By suddenly reducing the value of rooftop solar, Ameren is also threatening jobs at Illinois’ independent solar businesses, which have already seen 3,500 jobs disappear this year alone due to a lack of funding in the state’s clean energy program and the impacts of COVID-19.
“This move is contrary to Illinois’ commitment to creating jobs, protecting consumers and expanding clean energy,” said Nakhia Morrissette, central region director and counsel for Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “We’re calling on the ICC to fix it urgently before we lose more solar jobs.”
”Our employees and customers will be directly hurt if Ameren is allowed to pull the rug out from under our market,” said Shannon Fulton, VP of development for StraightUp Solar in Bloomington, Illinois. “I hope the Commission understands that this is a threat to jobs and consumers’ pocketbooks in the middle of an economic crisis. We need them to take immediate action.”
Clean energy groups argue that Ameren is distorting Illinois statute in order to avoid its legal responsibility to fairly compensate rooftop solar and help Illinois meet its clean energy goals. In July, an ICC administrative law judge found that Ameren’s calculations of the number of customers using net metering were wrong and concluded that Ameren should continue crediting customers the full retail value of their solar energy for at least two more years.
But on September 23, the Commission issued a ruling that Ameren is using as justification to end net metering years ahead of schedule. The lack of clarity leaves families and solar businesses in central and southern Illinois in the lurch.
The emergency filing was submitted to the ICC by the Solar Energy Industries Association, Illinois Solar Energy Association, Coalition for Community Solar Access, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council and Vote Solar.
“We’re calling on the Commission to act quickly and decisively to protect the state’s cornerstone net-metering policy while it continues to develop new policies to fairly compensate rooftop solar for the value it provides to the grid,” said Brad Klein, senior attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, who helped prepare the legal filing.
“Right now, Illinois families in Ameren territory are unable to make a confident calculation of the value of investing in rooftop solar, stalling the industry and stymying consumer choice,” said John Delurey, Midwest director at Vote Solar. “The consequences are especially dire for low-income families, who would no longer have access to the solar cost savings from the Illinois Solar for All program.”
News item from the Path to 100
I had my 6.5Kwh system installed last fall, since then I have been generating steadily, as of today my system software tells me I have generated 3.32Mwh since activation. I have seen only a minimal drop in my bill from Ameren. When I have inquired, they tell me my usage has doubles since last year, and as a result my solar generation is not enough to offset my usage, and my bill remains the same. I have all LED bulbs in the house, there is a new roof, with more venting, the house is fairly efficient. There is no way that my usage doubled since last year. I feel they are not crediting me anything for my solar generation, and almost feel like they are trying to punish me for having installed solar. I was assured by my solar installer that eventually my payment for my solar array would replace my Ameren bill, basically that I would pay nothing to Ameren, and the payment to the loan company for the array would be all I was paying. Not likely by the looks fo things.
Does your utility bill say you have doubled your usage?
This is so hugely disappointing. I had the witness test on my new solar array done today Oct 6th, and on the same day I receive an email from Ameren saying that they are changing net metering rules for everyone that had the witness test fone after Oct 1st… I called them and they said there is nothing they can do, it’s the law, and if I want to complain I should call ICC…. If anyone knows of a way to get some kind of exception or appeal please please let me know. This changes everything and I jad no idea it was coming. So sad….
I am in the same situation. I have complained to the ICC, BBB and Illinois Attorney General. I am preparing my formal complaint with the ICC. This change comes after I applied for net metering on August 24, 2020. I will fight this and we need to get more people, in our situation, to voice their opposition to the net metering change after Ameren has approved the systems. Ameren will receive half of my production at no cost, due to never being able to use the credit that it will generate only on the supply side of the bill. My system could have been half the size but why would I spend all this money to only produce half of my power needs?!
I note this and other messages received relative to the Ameren action all say it is “roof top solar” that is being affected; what about individual ground mounted? Furthermore, all seem to imply there already was a deadline for net metering since they say Ameren is stopping net metering two years early; what was that deadline? I note I have a total of 22.7 kV of ground mounted, retiltable panels installed at 3 different times starting in 2007 for which I am receiving net metering and Power Smart pricing from Ameren and SRECs from the state. Relative to the future of solar in Illinois, I suggest the various organizations promoting solar need to also consider the detrimental effect of current regulations preventing self-installers from receiving SRECS for their production.
Killing net-metering will kill consumer-owned solar. Utilities clearly want to monopolize renewable energy. Net metering doesn’t actually trade 1:1 energy between a customer and a utility because the Kwh credit comes off the last Kwh delivered first and typically rates are set up to have a reduced cost on the last Kwh vs the first Kwh delivered to a consumer. Utilities make money on the exchange and they never write a check so any credit at the end of the fiscal year is theirs to keep.
“Last week, Ameren told the Commission it intends to eliminate fair compensation for the solar energy homeowners and families produce. Ameren would slash the credits solar customers receive for excess clean energy, a foundational policy known as net metering, as soon as October 1.”
What you do then is add smart ESS to your system and become self generating and self consumption every day. The more solar PV, the more energy storage the longer your personal generation day will last. Get enough solar PV and energy storage so that YOU can use the utility as backup power, then their ‘new’ IRP will include a place at the table to contract to use your stored energy when the power company needs more capacity on demand.
“Clean energy groups argue that Ameren is distorting Illinois statute in order to avoid its legal responsibility to fairly compensate rooftop solar and help Illinois meet its clean energy goals. In July, an ICC administrative law judge found that Ameren’s calculations of the number of customers using net metering were wrong and concluded that Ameren should continue crediting customers the full retail value of their solar energy for at least two more years.”
When a residential customer ‘pays it forward’ and installs their own solar PV system on their roof. This distributed non-fueled generation resource is an avoided cost to the utility. Ameren didn’t pay for the “real estate” to put the solar PV system on, didn’t have to get a right of way, install any new infrastructure, pay for the system, maintain, repair, or insure the system. But Ameren gets distributed generation at the right voltage and frequency to use in the neighborhood. When a (non-solar) ratepayer is using this distributed solar PV, does Ameren remove the TD&D fees and fuel charges for this clean energy resource? Of course not, it’s Ameren’s right, yeah, right.