5.5. ERMUSR 03-19-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• There is another factor that should be taken into account when considering any expansion of net metering. Of the 125 Minnesota cities with municipal electric utilities, 114 have median household incomes below the state median income level. If we are to make changes in Minnesota's net metering requirements, we will want to make sure that lower income families, who constitute a significant portion of the population of Minnesota's public power communities, will not be subsidizing wealthier customers who choose to install renewable generating resources. Austin Energy and Its Value of Solar Program Since the Value of Solar net metering concept is based on a program instituted by Austin Energy, the municipal utility of Austin, Texas, it seems ap- propriate to make some comparisons between the circumstances of Austin Energy and Minnesota's municipal electric utilities. - The Austin Value of Solar program is volun- tary. Texas does not require Austin or any other Texas municipal electric utility to establish any net metering program. The Minnesota program would be mandatory. Under the DER proposal, Minnesota municipal utilities would be required to adopt either a net metering program or a Value of Solar program. • The effectiveness of solar power is much greater in Austin, Texas than anywhere in 400,000 300,000 a, E 200,000 3 • U 100,000 6 / 2013 State Position Statements Customer Comparison 417,191 Position Statement Minnesota. According to a map of "Photovoltaic Solar Resources of the United States" produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, Texas and the neighboring Southwest States have some of the greatest opportunities for solar power devel- opment in the country. (See page 4.) Minnesota does not. - Austin Energy is one of the largest munici- pal electric utilities in the United States with 415,000 customers, more than all of our Minne- sota municipal electric utilities combined. Aus- tin Energy also has more kilowatt -hour sales and more revenue than all Minnesota municipal electric utilities combined, and Austin Energy has 1,700 electric employees. A utility such as Austin Energy is in a far better position to deal with the costs, uncertainties and administra- tive burden of operating an aggressive, complex, experimental program to promote solar power. • Another good indicator of Austin Energy's ability to accommodate an aggressive net meter- ing program involving solar energy is its system peak load of 2,714 MW, more than 400 times greater than the 6 MW median peak load of Minnesota municipal utilities. Rochester Public Utilities, Minnesota's largest municipal electric utility by a wide margin, has a peak load of only 288 MW. Every other municipal electric utility in Minnesota has a system peak of less than 100 MW. Half are at or below the 6 MW median. ■ Austin Energy ■ All Minnesota Municipal Electric Utilities Combined Net Metering in Other States Policymakers would do well to review the actions of other states before imposing new renewable energy buy back proposals in Minnesota. Of the 43 states that have mandated net metering, 26 do not require the participation of municipal utilities. Of the 17 remaining net metering states, 14 have threshold requirements that are relatively low.