A recent ruling by state utility regulators removes the limits on how much electricity owners of solar panels can sell back to the grid.
In a decision announced last Friday, the Public Utilities Commission says it’s doing away with the current 100-megawatt limit on solar net-metering. That’s when owners of solar panels sell any unused energy they generate back to the public grid.
The decision settles a long running debate between advocates for the state’s growing solar industry, and utility companies.
One point of argument was just how much owners of solar panels should get paid for their electricity. Solar owners wanted the full retail rate, while utilities argued they should get less, because they don’t have to maintain the power infrastructure.
According to the state’s consumer advocate for utility issues, the PUC ruling comes down somewhere in between what each group wanted.
