Petition to encourage President Obama and Congress to enact federal net metering regulations.
Net metering regulations are what govern the ability of citizens to connect their own alternative energy system to the electric grid, currently Net metering regulations are set by each state, they are erratic across our country and in some places non existent.
We ask President Obama to support such regulations that the Congress may establish.
We ask Congress to establish that utility companies public and private must allow a minimum of 5% of households to interconnect their private alternative energy systems to the grid and that the utilities must reimburse those system owners for the excess power produced at current wholesale rates.
We ask Congress to establish reasonable interconnectivity practices removing restrictive and redundant equipment requirements.
Federal private citizen net metering regulations will lead to thousands of new jobs in both the installation and manufacturing fields
Please add your name in support of this call for important legislation.
Thank you
Net Metering
From Network for new energy choice's publication "Freeing the grid"
Net metering has been described as "providing the most significant boost of anypolicy tool at any level of government...to decentralize and 'green' American energy sources." Commonly referred to as the policy that lets your meter spin backwards, net metering programs are powerful, market-based incentives that states use to encourage energy independence.
As of September 2008, 40 states have statewide net metering programs-of varying quality. These programs are typically created as a commission rule, a state law, or a combination of the two. In addition, DC has its own program and 3 states have voluntary net metering.
These programs establish the process for crediting owners of customer-sited, grid-tied DG for excess electricity fed into the grid.
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Comments: 20
He gets a deduct on the power he uses for any power he generates to the net.
I believe that we are at the stage where the Feds could kill alternative energy with their corrupt, "one size fits all states" legislation, and I say "Let the states innovate!"
California is one of the most supportive alternative energy states in the country,
Even though, they have allowed the utilities to charge private citizens fees to use their lines and not required the utilities to pay for the excess power produced by these private alternative energy systems.
Most the rest of the country is far behind California with some not even requiring utilities to allow net metering at all.
Of course my suggestion would be a minium requirement not meant to restrict additional action by the states.
CA's alternative energy costs it hundreds of millions a year in subsidies. Given that drain on it's already busted budget Dan, any state following a similar path deserves similar ruin.
Subsidies don't work, they prop up failures and drain the Treasury. Ethanol is the perfect example with more such on the way.
Thanks for posting,
Sounds like your home is a good "passive" solar home.
Net metering is when a home owner installs solar panels (or a wind turbine) that produce electricity and they are allowed to hook it up to the electrical grid of the local utility, when the home owners system is producing electricity it is pushed onto the utility's system and the homeowners electric meter turns backwards thereby getting credit for providing that energy. when the home owners system is not producing electricity they use the utilities electricity.
Hope that helps.
Anytime the government mandates/interfers with something, they dick it up. What they (the Feds/states) could do is remove the power that public utilities boards have over pricing/innovation. That would allow utility companies to use metering/flexibile pricing etc to improve it's uses of resources.
http://reason.com/news/show/133227.html
Most power companies seem to require a contract to hook up to their lines, that include upkeep charges. However it is still the most efficient way to expand energy production this side of nuclear power plants. We have been playing around with solar stoves and portable solar panels but haven't hooked up to their lines because it is still cost prohibitive. I hope to put in a wind turbine when there is some kind of break through in the paranoid "you can't get this for free" mentality.
I live in a state where the utility is required to purchase excess production from solar/wind turbine consumers. I would put the number much higher than 5%, as any energy produced through these systems is also cleaner than what is produced in coal/other plants.
Hi Debra,
I think we should have a higher goal for the future but the people I have spoken to with experience in power generation and transmission say the existing equipment like local transformers are not able to handle the amount of energy produced by a large number of systems, but 5% should be O.K., and as they develop equipment able to handle the load they can raise the minimum.
Thanks
Acknowledged, the current grid is probably challenged at this. IMHO, we should deal with the capacity to recoup this available power rather than building new power generation plants.
It would be nice to have cheaper rates and not have to depend on monopolies such as these utility companies..
Once again, it would appear that your objective is to put the power of life and death in the hands of the politicians in Washington DC. so long as you think it will look like fair play. LOCAL REGULATION FOR LOCAL NEEDS HAS, AND WILL ALWAYS WORK BETTER.
This sentiment from someone you think of as a Hate filled Liberal. The central government is charged with providing rights to citizens, the local governments are charged with the solution of local problems, and Dan. the power grid is ultimately so local it is in the hands of the head of household.
Maybe you should read the petition BEFORE commenting! LOL!
My objection is putting this on the federal goverment for control and regulation. I MAY BE A LIBERAL, but I want my local government to regulate my locality as much as possible.
SERIOUSLY...Do you want the Federal Government regulating the way YOUR electric company deals with YOU
I just happen to think this is one area where LOCAL regulation tops National rules, and I would NOT ask the feds to get involved any more than they are already.
Let's see, have the federal government enact one of the largest most regressive taxes ever (a carbon tax) or have them require that the utilities allow 5% of their customers hook up their alternative energy sources to the grid.
Haven't you claimed support of the former?
Doesn't make much sense that you would refuse federal net metering regulations as to much government control when you support much more governmental control of energy overall through taxes.
Thanks Karl, but I don't see your point concerning electricity being "delivered" across state lines.
My suggestion would require utilities to allow 5% of their customers...no matter where they may live to hook up the the grid,
And as I posted before...Your rejection of federal net metering metering because it is too much government intrusion is negated by your support of carbon taxes which is exponentially much greater governmental intrusion than federal net metering regulations would be.
"YES, I AM SAYING MAKE ELECTRICITY PRODUCED WITH COAL MORE EXPENSIVE THAN ELECTRICITY PRODUCED WITH SUNLIGHT."
Well you can say it Karl but that does not make it so.
Cradle to grave at this time and for the foreseeable future alternative energy is vastly more expensive than energy produced from coal.
What the alternative energy purists don't realize is that it takes a lot of energy to produce a solar panel and a lot of energy to produce the steel in wind turbines and the concrete that forms the foundation on which they stand.
Which makes one wonder....exactly how clean is the hydro power coming from a dam built from energy intensive concrete?