PSC hears comments on Net Metering tariff

At Tuesday’s Public Service Commission meeting in Jackson, Mississippi Power, other regulated utilities in the state, interveners and members of the general public entered comments on the PSC’s proposed Net Metering tariff.

The PSC opened the net metering docket in Dec. 2010 and issued a proposed rule in April 2015. Mississippi Power filed two sets of comments with the PSC and those comments raised the same points that were reiterated at Tuesday’s hearing.

Mississippi Power supports the future of renewable energy as part of an “all of the above” energy strategy and believes that a fairly-crafted net metering rule can lead to further development of renewable resources in the state.

“A net metering rule should ensure that all customers pay their fair share for the availability and use of the electrical grid, so that non-participating customers don’t bear an unfair portion of the cost,” Balch and Bingham Attorney Michael Malenfant said on behalf of the company. “A net metering rule should also ensure that the ‘avoided cost’ paid for excess generation is calculated based on actual operating data, in order to best match utility costs and, therefore, to minimize cost-shifting to non-participants.”

After hearing from more than 20 parties, the Commission voted to extend the written comment period an additional 14 days.