Indiana Supreme Court approves CenterPoint's billing process for residential solar
EVANSVILLE — The Indiana Supreme Court has decided CenterPoint Energy can bill customers with solar panels the way it originally requested back in 2020, meaning customers will likely receive less credit for the energy they create.
The court agreed with a decision made by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, not the reversal decided on by the Indiana Court of Appeals in February 2022. The Court of Appeals had ruled in the favor of consumer advocacy groups who said the change would undercut the total savings for customers with solar.
The Court of Appeals ruled that state law, SEA 309, required billing to be calculated as the difference between power used and power returned to the grid. Indiana Supreme Court justices disagreed, stating CenterPoint's proposed "instantaneous" netting method did not violate state law.
"When the General Assembly overhauled the system to a new excess distributed generation scheme, it did not direct utilities on how often excess distributed generation must be measured," the finding states.
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In the prior arrangement, customers with solar power received a credit for their extra power at the same rate CenterPoint charges others for that electricity in a one-for-one retail credit at the end of the billing cycle.
The justices wrote that since the statute does not mandate a specific time for the measurement of energy flowing to the customer versus to the utility company, the IURC acted correctly in granting CenterPoint's request.
Justice Derek Molter did not participate in the proceedings because he represented Vectren Energy Delivery while working as an attorney at Ice Miller’s Indianapolis office.
When the IURC originally granted the request, local solar advocates were concerned the change would discourage homeowners from installing solar panels. They argued that would make it more difficult to recover the investment of solar panels, and it would slow the growth of rooftop solar installations in Indiana.
CenterPoint will file for a new rate for excess distributed generation in March.
Through a spokesperson, the utility said instantaneous netting "better balances the interests of all customers who choose not to install rooftop solar or other qualifying customer-owned generation without hindering customers who have installed their own generation."
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Indiana Supreme Court okays CenterPoint's billing process for solar
