Yet another study confirms that net metering benefits all ratepayers
A new report from the Brookings Institution said net metering benefits all parties when every cost and benefit is factored in, and doesn't significantly shift grid maintenance costs to non-rooftop solar customers.
The report acknowledged that there are "legitimate" cost recovery issues linked to net metering and a good rate design is often complex, a growing number of studies from different entities show the overall benefit out-weighs negative effects.
In drafting the report, researchers from the Brookings Institution evaluated reports from utility regulatory bodies, national laboratories, academic and think-tank studies, including notable solar valuation studies from Maine and Nevada.
"Net metering... frequently benefits all ratepayers when all costs and benefits are accounted for, which is a finding state public utility commissions, or PUCs, need to take seriously as the fight over net metering rages in states like Arizona, California, and Nevada," the researchers wrote in their blog post about the study. "Regulators everywhere need to put in place processes that fairly consider the full range of benefits (as well as costs) of net metering as well as other policies as they set and update the policies, regulations, and tariffs that will play a critical role in determining the extent to which the distributed solar industry continues to grow."
