FERC on Monday extended the deadline for comments in a high-stakes dispute over net metering until June 15 (EL20-42).
The New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) filed a petition for declaratory order on April 14 asking FERC to outlaw net metering for rooftop solar generation by ruling that the commission has exclusive federal jurisdiction over wholesale energy sales from generation sources located on the customer side of the retail meter.
The declaration would require such sales be priced under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 or the Federal Power Act, which could require the customer to have a rate on file with FERC.
“In other words, the group seeks to end net metering as we know it,” tweeted Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program.
FERC granted the 30-day extension in response to a request by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), which cited the coronavirus pandemic and the potential impact of the commission’s ruling in the case.
NARUC said states with full net metering programs treat the entire output of energy from an electricity consumer’s generation source that is located on the same side of the retail meter as the consumer’s load as subject to state jurisdiction.
“NARUC has not yet taken a formal position on this petition; however, many NARUC members have expressed serious concerns with the petition’s timing, scope, jurisdictional implications and implementation challenges,” the organization said in its motion.
NARUC, which had requested an extension until Aug. 12, was supported in its request by several state regulatory commissions, consumer advocates and other intervenors. NERA said it opposed any extension beyond 60 days.
NERA describes itself as a non-profit advocacy group seeking to protect “families and businesses” from excessive utility rates.
The Energy and Policy Institute, however, says its “lobbying and regulatory advocacy often align with the interests of investor-owned utilities and the fossil fuel industry” and says it has close ties to New Hampshire’s Gov. Chris Sununu.
NERA’s petition was filed by Steptoe & Johnson attorneys David B. Raskin and Richard L. Roberts and reiterates arguments that Raskin has been making for years. Raskin has represented the Edison Electric Institute in the past, but EEI has said it is not involved with the filing.
Dozens of stakeholders have filed to intervene in the FERC docket thus far, an indication of the stakes in the case.
