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Arguments on 'grandfathering' solar users

Posted at 8:25 AM, Feb 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-08 21:30:30-05

Nevada regulators are set to hear arguments on whether existing rooftop solar customers should be "grandfathered" into lower rates instead of paying higher ones approved before the new year.
   
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission scheduled a hearing on the matter for Monday. A decision isn't expected until later in the week.

Hundreds of rooftop solar employees showed up for the meeting, but since there were so many, and public comment was allowed during the hearing, they gathered outside in the parking lot.  

They brought wheelbarrows filled with thousands of commitment cards, signed by people pledging their support for rooftop solar companies in Nevada.  
   
NV Energy initially proposed seven timelines for carrying out grandfathering. One would implement a rate hike gradually over four years as regulators wanted, while a more dramatic option would implement it all at once but 20 years down the road.
   
Rooftop solar company representatives criticized the utility for even proposing options that kicked in sooner than 20 years out. NV Energy later issued a more forceful recommendation for the 20-year plan, saying it would be perceived as more fair.

Solar employees have said even if the commission decides to grandfather in existing customers, that would only have been half their battle.  The other half is to try to reverse the PUC's decision by the end of the year.