Just a reminder: Despite the urgent need to address climate change, Georgia Power is asking the Georgia PSC for a Christmas tree stuffed with policies that limit distributed energy, which is when consumers generate their own electricity. They want to
end net metering, which pays rooftop solar customers the same rate for adding energy on the grid as Georgia Power charges for it. By ending that program Georgia Power will pay only 2-3 cents/kWh so the investment doesn’t pencil out.
charge a $100 interconnection fee which further curtails consumer participation in solar and ensures customers don’t see a payback for 20+ years.
increase community solar monthly block fees from $25 to $28, which is already a dead market since the $25 fee was too high for the investment to pencil out.
Georgia is already in 43rd place in rankings for rooftop solar. Georgia Power wants Georgia to stay there. But Georgia needs about 10-15x the amount of solar to meet the nation’s (and Southern Company’s) goals of reducing carbon emissions of 50% by 2030 and zero by 2050. We cannot get there with only utility solar that profits Georgia Power. Georgia is one of the top carbon emitters per capita.
Here is where Georgia Power stands right now: