April 29, 2015
The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA) reports that—in a 12-2 vote and amidst complaints from customers, lawsuit threats, and reports from several states and research groups proving there is no cost shift—the Salt River Project (SRP) board of directors formally killed residential rooftop solar in its service territory in late February 2015.
The outcome is the destruction of the businesses, jobs, opportunities, and economic growth that results from participating in one of the fastest growing industry sectors on the planet. Meeting attendees complained of a broken process, disenfranchised customers with no say in the public process, and a management run amok.
According to SRP, home and business owners with rooftop solar systems use less power than those without, and therefore shift costs onto customers with no rooftop solar. This view ignores studies conducted by public utility commissions in California, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Vermont, and studies from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Rocky Mountain Institute, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and others that reach the opposite conclusion.
According to AriSEIA, SRP customers will likely move to replace the board with more thoughtful and forward-thinking members.