Idaho Power can take 1st step toward changing how it charges solar customers

"We agree, and acknowledge that the costs of serving on-site generation customers, when the true value of their interconnection is realized, may be less than the cost of serving standard service customers," the commission said in its long-awaited order.

The Idaho Public Utility Commission ruled in favor of Idaho Power Wednesday, creating a new class for customers who generate their own electricity and ordering the utility to study those customers’ costs and benefits.

The PUC is a three-person, semi-judicial panel that oversees investor-owned utilities in Idaho. It ruled that differences in the electricity usage between these and more traditional customers is enough to warrant separating them out, even before the costs and benefits have been determined.

BY ROCKY BARKER

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http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/environment/article210778479.html