Tuesday, November 2 @ 5 p.m. on Zoom


||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT CO-OPERATIVE |||


CLARIFICATION: The energy roundtable is simply a forum for members to discuss the proposal – but staff will not be presenting information – it’s up to the members to come to the roundtable informed. The materials are posted online and links have been provided in the comments on the article.

Whether or not you’re interested in solar, this proposal affects your power bill. OPALCO is proposing a change to the rate structure for members who generate power (mostly solar) on the co-op grid: specifically, the rate that they are paid for their excess production. OPALCO continues to support local
solar production and must also safeguard the future affordability of power for all members. The problem isn’t solar production, it’s the trend of subsidies that are growing larger with more solar producers on the system.

Since 2008, OPALCO members have subsidized the amount that solar producers pay for the use of the grid that they use to buy electricity (like everyone else), and also to sell the surplus energy they produce. This year, OPALCO members will collectively pay about $300,000 to subsidize about 400 solar producers, and that subsidy is growing as more members add rooftop solar. We forecast that the subsidy will grow to about $2 million in the next eight years.

Solar producers are subsidized by the rest of the membership because the majority of the Co-op’s fixed costs (non-energy expenses) are collected through kWh charges for energy usage and solar producers buy less energy when they are producing. As more members install solar on OPALCO’s system, the gap in revenue collection affects the financial viability of the Co-op while increasing the burden on the rest of the membership.

The proposed solar rate offers a credit for the local energy benefits that solar producers bring to the Co-op, and it improves fairness and Co-op financial sustainability by reducing the gap between paying their full share of grid costs and the current subsidized rate. This rate adjustment is only the first step in
making sure all members are paying their fair share for energy.

Read more about solar rates and consider joining us for a (virtual) Energy Roundtable on November 2 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. Contact us by November 2 at 3 p.m. to get the link: communications@opalco.com. Can’t attend? We still want to hear from you! Review the materials and drop us a line at communications@opalco.com.


Orcas Power &Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is our member-owned cooperative electric utility, serving more than 11,400 members on 20 islands in San Juan County.  OPALCO provides electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is generated predominantly by hydroelectric plants. OPALCO was founded in
1937.


 

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