What is Pennsylvania's AEPS Act?

Laws are not followed just because they're on the books. Companies, governments, and individuals often ignore laws. They do what they like until someone challenges their conduct. In fact, companies may implement their own arbitrary rules and do so with impunity for long periods. That, it seems, is what PPL Electric has been doing in Pennsylvania -- ignoring and evading the terms of the AEPS Act.

In 2010, the Company implemented a practice of restricting virtual meter aggregation. (See blog for April 26). Under this PPL restriction, the Company refuses to approve PV solar systems for virtual metering if they are built in new locations (green fields). In other words, the only sites that are acceptable are those locations where a transformer, meter, and electric service already exist. In short, the Company will gladly approve thousands of shady sites which have existing electric service, and thousands of open, sunny locations will be rejected because no one's using electricity there.

This restriction is an affront to reason and to the law itself. Under the law's provisions, solar panels may be installed within two miles of the location where electricity is required. Obviously, the first requirement for solar panels is optimal sunlight. PPL's practice is a twisted irony, puts a leash on solar generation, and makes a mockery of the law.

If you'd like to read the law's provisions for net metering, here's the website:

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/052/chapter75/chap75toc.html

Have a sunny day!!

Net metering - Which kind do you mean?

This blog is to help customers become aware of the opportunities for private, residential generation of electricity.

"Net metering" is, by now, a well-recognized phrase. However, its implementation can be very complicated, and there are variations from state to state. In Pennsylvania, for example, there are two different kinds of  "net metering". Utility companies, generally, have accepted the first kind, known as "physical" net metering, but they have aggressively restricted the second type, "virtual" net metering or "virtual meter aggregation" as it's called in Pennsylvania law.

Electric Utility Companies have blocked virtual net metering by imposing arbitrary rules that circumvent the law. That is precisely what my current legal case is about, and I'll elaborate on that as the case proceeds.

For now, here's a quick summary of the two kinds of net metering. If you picture solar panels on a roof, you're probably thinking of physical net metering. In physical net metering, there is one meter called a "bi-directional" meter. The solar panels and the house's circuitry are both wired into the single meter. The meter cycles one direction when the generation exceeds usage, and it reversed direction when usage exceeds generation. At the end of each month, the meter shows a "net" reading, producing either a credit or a charge for the billing period.

It can get more complicated, with spikes in spot pricing, peak-generation credit, and other market-related variables, but that's the basic idea.

The second type of net metering is "virtual" net metering. In this form of net metering, a separate meter is installed for the PV solar panels, wherever they are located. Often, the building of a roof is not suitable, either because of the angle or because it is shaded. Obviously, the solar panels should be installed where the sunlight is greatest. If a customer has no suitable siting, he/she can lease land from a neighbor. The location, according to Pennsylvania law must be within two miles of the usage meter or meters. The separate meters, then, are read and "aggregated" each month. The law (The AEPS Act of 2004) suggests that these multiple meters will be aggregated in a single account. In some cases, the solar panels may supply several different meters on separate sites or buildings.

So, why would the Utility Companies want to defy this part of the law, when the provision is so explicit?

We'll consider that question in a later blog.

Comments are welcome.

Whose sunlight is it, anyway?

The premise of this blog is that the energy powering the planet belongs to all of us. I hope it will contribute to the evolving conversations about the planet's resources, sustainability, and social structures. In time, it might even provoke some ideas about a more just world. The immediate focus of the blog will be "net metering", which is now a heated topic in many states. Pennsylvania, where I live, has a progressive law (the AEPS Act), but the electric utilities have added numerous roadblocks to prevent its full implementation. One of the provisions in the Law is for "virtual meter aggregation". This allows a single customer to apply generation credit from one meter (at the generating site) to another meter where electricity is used.

My own pv solar system was installed for my house in 2009 under that provision. In 2011, however, the power company terminated generation credits. For four years, my complaint has been proceeding through various appeals and is awaiting a decision from Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court.

I welcome comments from readers, and hope this personal blog might become a public forum, as well.

Larry