07-24-2015, 06:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-24-2015, 06:52 AM by dmcowen674.)
7-23-2015
Iowa farmer says he’ll remove solar if co-op’s $85 fixed charge stands
A small rural electric cooperative in Iowa has informed its 3,000 customer-members that, should they install solar panels or other distributed generation, they will pay what appears to be one of the highest monthly charges in the nation.
Pella Cooperative Electric sent out a notification on June 18 alerting customers that the “facilities fee,” which is the fixed part of the monthly bill, will triple from $27.50 per month to $85 per month – but only for customers with solar panels or another source of their own generation.
Bryce Engbers, whose hog-confinement operation accounts for three of the 12 distributed generators now on Pella's system, said that he's done the math and foresees removing the solar panels on his home and his two hog barns
Last year, Engbers said, the 3.5-kilowatt system on his home produced about 5,320 kilowatt hours of power. At 12 cents per kilowatt hour, that's a savings of $638, he said – compared with the $85 monthly fee, which over the course of a year would amount to $1,020.
“As you can see, this fee makes my home system absolutely and totally worthless,” he said. “In fact, I will have them de-install it, or I will be losing $400 a year.”
[url=http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/07/23/iowa-farmer-says-hell-remove-solar-if-co-ops-85-fixed-charge-stands/][/url]
Iowa farmer says he’ll remove solar if co-op’s $85 fixed charge stands
A small rural electric cooperative in Iowa has informed its 3,000 customer-members that, should they install solar panels or other distributed generation, they will pay what appears to be one of the highest monthly charges in the nation.
Pella Cooperative Electric sent out a notification on June 18 alerting customers that the “facilities fee,” which is the fixed part of the monthly bill, will triple from $27.50 per month to $85 per month – but only for customers with solar panels or another source of their own generation.
Bryce Engbers, whose hog-confinement operation accounts for three of the 12 distributed generators now on Pella's system, said that he's done the math and foresees removing the solar panels on his home and his two hog barns
Last year, Engbers said, the 3.5-kilowatt system on his home produced about 5,320 kilowatt hours of power. At 12 cents per kilowatt hour, that's a savings of $638, he said – compared with the $85 monthly fee, which over the course of a year would amount to $1,020.
“As you can see, this fee makes my home system absolutely and totally worthless,” he said. “In fact, I will have them de-install it, or I will be losing $400 a year.”
[url=http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/07/23/iowa-farmer-says-hell-remove-solar-if-co-ops-85-fixed-charge-stands/][/url]