Monopoly Utilities And Solar In Iowa

I wrote this post about MidAmericans effort to monopolize solar during last years state legislative session. Please check the other post. I mentioned that the surcharges the utility wanted to impose   were unfair to customers with solar, as customer owned solar provides a net benefit to the grid. I included information available online from the state municipal utility association that agreed with my position. Here's some more information from my REC newsletter that also supports my position.

 

 A distribution coop in northern Iowa mentions they buy wholesale electricity at 7 cents per KWH, and their solar array also offsets peak electric demand of 5 cents per KWH. That gets pretty close to most Iowa utilities retail rates. The information I posted previously was more detailed about the costs that utilities were avoiding, including calculating avoided peak demand from 2 to 3 PM at a much higher rate. The RECs generation arm may be able spread peak costs over their service territory, but I'm speculating . I still believe MidAmerican was full of it last year, and these utilities own information seems to back me up. Ample evidence that customer owned solar is offsetting peak demand liability for the utility. Yet, utilities in Iowa still assess demand charges to their customers who have solar 

So a group including solar trades associations, certain environmental groups, livestock groups, and probably some others have been negotiating with MidAmerican about this legislation, which stalled last year when a number of house Republicans wouldn't support the bill as written. The Iowa environmental council announced that a "deal" had been reach in their latest newsletter.

      Not much for details, but it looks to be solar only. Why are they excluding wind, anaerobic digesters,etc? It also looks like future customer owned solar will be treated differently than current ones. Current net metering Iowa law only applies to rate regulated utilities, so probably half of Iowa doesn't have net metering now. The agreement also states an intent to move to value of solar tariff.
I've been a proponent of fair electric pricing for non utility owned generation, but not a tariff just for one technology (solar). I see a lot of wind turbines installed by livestock barns and I'll bet many of them are not able to use net metering. Heck, what if a group of farmers want to build a wind project in the megawatt range?
Doesn't look like a good "deal" to me.

The legislature seems to have the ability to require all Iowa utilities to offer net metering.  A good friend wrote this work. He can contact me if he wants credit.

   
 With these legal precedents (I'm not aware that purpa has been gutted) Senator Joe Bolkcom drafted a bill to require net metering statewide. It was one of Gov. Chet Culver's campaign goals. Democrats couldn't get the bill out of a subcommittee, despite controlling house , senate, and governors office.
See why I occasionally question if MidAmerican has too much influence at the statehouse?
Here's the work sheet for the solar bill. Net metering in Iowa (for those who have it) has been increased to 1 megawatt, but you get the picture.

    

      

Opponents to the MidAmerican bill last year also took to using new messaging , saying MidAmerican shouldn't be allowed to monopolize the solar industry. There was no outcry when legislation was passed years ago that allowed MidAmerican to monopolize wind in Iowa, and I would imagine some of these same groups supported that legislation. By the way legislators, It's not too late to pass legislation for distributed wind not owned by utilities. 

  

Here.   

I served with Laura on the IEC board of directors. I resigned several years ago. Laura has a different take on the "deal"   

So , I can't get excited about this "deal" 

Cons-only written for one technology, and only one kind of distributed generation - behind the meter installations . What else was agreed to that the kids and grandkids above might not like?

Pros- not much, Iowa fell short when they passed net metering in the 80s. The "deal" falls short again. After the court cases mentioned above were reached, it seems that we could get better distributed generation laws in Iowa. 

This doesn't look like it makes any significant progress for distributed generation not owned by utilities.

I'll be keeping an eye on this.