West Virginia Could See a Vast Improvement in Net Metering
From the depths of coal country, West Virginia could be setting a new high with net metering. As you might remember, back in February the West Virginia PSC issued proposed modifications to the state’s net metering and interconnection rules. IREC and others subsequently filed comments in response to this proposal and apparently PSC staff sat…
From the depths of coal country, West Virginia could be setting a new high with net metering. As you might remember, back in February the West Virginia PSC issued proposed modifications to the state’s net metering and interconnection rules. IREC and others subsequently filed comments in response to this proposal and apparently PSC staff sat up and took notice. IREC’s comments were referenced heavily in the WV PSC Joint Staff Comments. Below are some changes that they recommended making to the proposed rules:
- Eligible customers should not be limited to those who own the generating equipment
- Removing the 1% aggregate participation limit
- Defining the average cost of generation and removing ambiguity over the term avoided cost of generation
- Specifying that customers own RECs associated with their system’s production
- Allowing time-differentiated rates for systems over 500 kilowatts to better value the energy that utilities avoid producing during peak periods of the day
If Staff’s comments are adopted, West Virginia could rank among the top states for net metering in the country. Staff comments did not address the list of eligible fuels which included such non-renenwable fuels as tire-derived fuel, coal bed methane and natural gas.
For more information refer to WV Staff’s Joint Comments
