Will Utility Companies Charge You For Being Efficient?
Will utility companies charge me extra because I cut my energy usage through efficiency improvements at home? Utility companies across the country are proposing new fees for people who find a way to reduce their dependence on a dirty and destructive energy grid by operating rooftop solar systems. The core of the utility companies' argument is that these homes and businesses with rooftop solar cut the amount of energy they need from the grid, and thus they reduce the amount they pay for the operation and maintenance of transmission lines and substations that bring them energy from far away places. There seems to be two major problems with utility company logic. First, what will stop them from charging me for reducing my use of the grid through energy efficiency improvements? How do they distinguish between people who install rooftop solar panels, and people who replace appliances and light bulbs to cut electricity usage? And second, what choice do I have when the utility co