Solar advocates score a victory in Puerto Rico, but the fight continues
- Solar accessibility
Solar United Neighbors (SUN), along with our partners, and the support of solar advocates like you, gained a major win in the ongoing battle to defend solar in Puerto Rico.
Rooftop solar has the potential to transform Puerto Rico’s failing energy grid. Widespread solar can help decrease the impact of frequent blackouts on the community. It can also decrease energy costs for everyone on the island. Unfortunately, utility LUMA, PREPA, and the Federal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) continue to create barriers that would limit solar.
Periodically, utility companies submit requests for approval from a public utilities commission to change the rates they charge customers. This is called a rate case.
In Puerto Rico’s current rate case, private utility LUMA, on PREPA’s behalf (the government utility that owns the power plants), is requesting limitations on rooftop solar and an adjustment to electric utility rates which, if approved, could see the average residential bill rise by at least 40%. The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB), Puerto Rico’s independent energy regulator, is currently reviewing LUMA’s request.
Thanks to the legal action and advocacy work of SUN and our partners, there’s one piece of the proposal we don’t need to worry about anymore: the threat to net metering.
Solar advocates win a major battle
Net metering is a policy that fairly credits solar owners for sharing the power they generate with the grid. Utilities pay solar owners back in the form of credits they can use to pay for future electric bills.
While initially under threat, net metering will no longer be a consideration before PREB.
This is a huge victory for solar advocates. The credits earned through net metering make solar more affordable, which helps more Puerto Ricans adopt solar. And it doesn’t just lower costs for solar owners. More solar energy helps lower costs for everyone connected to the grid. Various studies have shown that net metering, energy efficiency, and other islandwide energy resources are reducing the amount of electricity LUMA needs to meet demand.
“More solar energy benefits all Puerto Ricans. It lowers costs and makes our energy service more reliable.”
said David Ortiz, Solar United Neighbors Puerto Rico Senior Program Director.
SUN, the only group representing residential customers in this rate case, officially intervened to help achieve this solar victory. SUN took action after hearing LUMA include anti-net metering discussion in their case testimonies. We hired a lawyer who is an expert in net metering, and a long-time energy expert who gave testimony on SUN’s behalf. Together with the Solar Energy & Storage Association (SESA), we were able to shine a spotlight on LUMA’s threat, directly influencing the hearing examiner ruling that the rate case should not include changes to net metering.
The work we did in this case was made possible by our solar advocates and supporters like you.
The fight isn’t over yet.
SUN Puerto Rico is committed to keep monitoring and engaging in the protection of net metering.
The Federal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), a U.S. federal entity created to help Puerto Rico manage its debt crisis, is still pursuing a lawsuit that calls to overturn a law (Act 10 – 2024) that extends Puerto Rico’s favorable net metering policy. Instead, they are trying to lock Puerto Ricans into paying more for expensive imported and unreliable fossil fuel energy sources.
“This isn’t the end of the fight to protect net metering; we are just beginning and will continue to be there in the future,” Ortiz says.
Help us keep up the fight.
Your support powers the legal work, public education, and advocacy that helped us gain this win, and it will help us gain future wins to protect solar for our communities.
Let’s recognize this important win, and we’ll be ready to celebrate again when net metering is truly secure.
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