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"Sunburned: The Unintended Effect of Senate Bill 9"
by Colin Cogle

Written Friday, May 11, 2018.
Updated Thursday, May 24, 2018.

Originally published in the June 2018 issue of "The Quinnehtukqut":
https://colincogle.name/blog/ct-senate-bill-9/Quinnehtukqut_June2018.pdf

Online at https://colincogle.name/sb9

ABSTRACT
While Connecticut Senate Bill 9 is a step forward for renewable energy,
it includes a knife in the back for homeowners and small businesses.


While voters were asleep hours before sunrise on May 9, Senate Bill 9
passed our House. [endnote 1] It effectively undoes our state’s popular
and successful net metering program. The text of the bill [2], if signed
into law, would require Connecticut’s energy usage to step up to being
40% from renewables by 2030, as opposed to the current mandate of 28%
by 2020. I’ll commend it that much. I’m sure this is where our elected
officials stopped reading.

The remainder of S.B. 9 eliminates net metering, the promise where a
customer with solar panels will pay for electricity by the kilowatt-hour
like any other customer;  however, when their home is generating more
power than it’s consuming, the provider would buy the excess power at
the same price.  Photovoltaic (PV; i.e., "solar") system owners have
seen their electricity bills greenéd by the sun, making the investment
pay for itself in a matter of years.

Under S.B. 9, utility companies such as Eversource can set lower buyback
rates during periods of “excessive generation.”  Its passage would all
but gut our rooftop solar industry, laying waste to yet another of Con-
necticut’s fast-growing economies and threatening to send all 2,000 of
our tax-paying solar jobs to greener pastures.  Case in point: when a
similar bill passed in Nevada, and that sunny state lost thousands of
jobs to their solar-friendly neighbors, it wasn’t long before their
legislature backtracked and re-instated net metering.

The advocacy group Vote Solar said through their regional director,
Sean Garren:  "This bill is sadly misguided. Connecticut pays some of
the highest electricity costs in the nation, and rooftop solar invest-
ment provides a much needed opportunity for families and businesses to
manage those bills while lowering the overall cost of the utility system
for everyone - and helping us fight climate change as well." [3]

Last year, residents of the towns of New Milford and Sherman stood
against the Connecticut Siting Council under the banner of Rescue Can-
dlewood Mountain [4] and staunchly opposed the “solar sprawl” of razing
part of scenic Candlewood Mountain  to build a large solar plant.
However, there is little if any opposition to homeowners or businesses
buying a PV system.  The removal of net metering, ironically, would un-
dercut the higher renewable goals promised by S.B. 9.

At least two out of three lawmakers voted on the side of your electric
company, but this is a classic case of our elected representatives be-
traying the popular vote that sent them to Hartford in the first place.
A recent poll by Public Policy Polling [5] shows that 77% of Connecticut
electors surveyed are in favor of expanding the role of solar energy in
our state.  Moreover, splitting the numbers by party affiliation is an
exercise in futility, with 71% of Republicans, 78% of Democrats, and
81% of independents in favor of expanding access to solar energy. [6]

While S.B. 9 now sits on Governor Malloy’s desk, it originated from his
office, so a veto seems unlikely. All we can do is remind our readers
of the significance of the first Tuesday in November.

UPDATE: Indeed, this bill was signed into law May 24, 2018.


ENDNOTES/SOURCES
[1] https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/VOTE/h/2018HV-00274-R00SB00009-HV.htm
[2] https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/FC/2018SB-00009-R000460-FC.htm
[3] https://votesolar.org/usa/connecticut/updates/press-statement-connecticut-passes-anti-solar-bill/
[4] https://rescuecandlewoodmountain.org/
[5] https://votesolar.org/files/1415/0479/7454/ConnecticutResults_4.pdf
[6] https://votesolar.org/usa/connecticut/updates/ct-voters-support-solar-climate-leadership/]
 
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