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September 27, 1999
Lawmakers want utility credits for people with solar, wind power
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home and business owners who generate their own electricity could give excess power to utilities and later get credits on their utility bill, under a proposal unveiled Friday.
More than two dozen states, from Washington and California to Rhode Island and Vermont, already have laws that allow some kind of "net metering."
But Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said the state laws vary and that a national law is needed to set uniform standards for connecting home generation units to a community electricity grid.
The inconsistent state laws discourage the mass development of new technologies for home power generation, he says.
"We think that by having a national standard this will really help this industry take off," Inslee said.
Solar panels are becoming more common on ranches and farms in Eastern Oregon and elsewhere in the West, as prices for many home power systems have dropped dramatically in the past five years.
About 100,000 homes in the United States have major solar-electric systems, and about 10,000 are totally powered by solar electricity, said Scott Sklar of the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Under Inslee's proposal, a home or business owner who generates solar or other alternative energy could ship excess juice to utilites during peak generation periods, such as on sunny days.
Then, when home and business owners need to use utility electricity during rainy days and nights, they would see a credit on their bills for the power previously shipped.