By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
What Happened:Solar electricity wracked up an enormous victory in South Carolina yesterday when the House of Representatives eliminated the prevailing net metering caps on residential installations.
- But don’t spike the ball too early: The issue now goes before the state’s Senate, where the debate is expected to be just as contentious as it was in the lower chamber.
. - Yes, the utilities are trotting out the cost-shift fabrication again – but I won’t spend too much time on it right now because I’m in a celebratory mood.
South Carolina should get ac-CUSTOMED to more residential solar installations (see what we did there? It’s a Custom’s House in Charleston. See. Cust….oh never mind).
SolarWakeup’s View: Maybe South Carolina is sick and tired of being in the shadow of its northern neighbor when it comes to discussions of being a top solar state. Whatever the reason, the residential solar industry in the southern stronghold got an initial boost yesterday as the House of Representatives passed legislation removing the net metering caps that had hampered to growth of the residential segment.
As the debate raged over whether to remove the caps or not, installers worried the net metering restrictions – which the state was rapidly approaching as solar boomed – would inhibit further growth and cause job losses as new installations dwindled.
The victory stunned some observers, especially since a utility-backed bill was on the floor at the same time (it failed). Duke Energy expressed disappointment in the to the Charleston (South Carolina) Post & Courrier newspaper, but one representative/solar advocate could barely contain his excitement.
“We’re no longer competitive in being able to attract industry because we have some of the highest (electricity) rates in the country,” said state Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, during an hours-long debate on the House floor [according to the newspaper]. “We’ve got to change that. This bill will do it.”
Before South Carolina solar advocates spike the ball, however, they should remember the bill still has to be passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, and most veteran political observers believe this fight is going to be just as brutal there. Still, one South Carolina installer expressed his excitement to SolarWakeup this way:
We had a major victory yesterday with the house passing the bill but its headed to the Senate where its going to be a heated debate. If this bill goes through, [South Carolina] will become one of the top solar friendly states in the country and it’s important for everyone to see and understand the process the bill makes/or doesn’t make as it moves through our legislative system. I hope that [our state] can be a beacon of light for other states and their citizens to keep fighting and pushing for more progressive energy policies that work for the people not the “public” utilities.
Maybe soon South Carolina will stand beside its northern neighbor in the sunlight instead of being hidden in its shadow.
More:
OK, here’s your “cost-shift” refresher. You’re really bringing me down here.