SPRINGFIELD, Ill.— Ameren, an Illinois based utility company that services over 2.4 million electric customers, filed a letter with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on October 2. Their letter stated that Ameren will no longer provide full net metering to new customers effective October 23, beginning of the company’s November billing period.
Current Ameren net metering customers would not be affected by this change.
Ameren initially alerted the ICC in September that they would reach the 5% net metering threshold, which would allow them to discontinue net meting to future customers, per Illinois legislation. The ICC has called for an investigation and audit of the utility’s data and calculations.
“To encourage the use of renewable energy sources, the Illinois legislature created net metering credits to compensate solar customers for any excess electricity they generate and send back to the grid, reducing the customer’s monthly electric bills,” Victoria Crawford, Senior Public Information Officer of the ICC wrote. “While Ameren asserted they may meet the 5% threshold imminently under the calculation methodology contained in their current tariffs, the Commission’s Order directed ICC staff to perform an audit of Ameren’s threshold calculation as a protective measure for customers.”
Watch this video to understand how net metering works, provided by Energy Sage.
Solar installers around the state are claiming that Ameren’s calculations are incorrect and will cripple the residential solar industry. This would drastically reduce the incentive for going solar, greatly increasing the risk that Illinois does not meet its renewable energy targets set by law in the Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Should Ameren’s calculations be incorrect, yet still deny new customers full net metering through legal loopholes, this could set a precedent for other utility companies across Illinois.
Ultimately, this precedent, if allowed, could threaten all future solar customers in the state.
Similarly, this would impact the Illinois solar industry that has already been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This could trigger continued job loss in what was seen as a booming and upcoming industry in 2019, with over 300 solar companies and an estimated 5,500 solar employees across the state.
The ICC has required Ameren to submit its legal reasoning by October 15 as to why the utility believes the commission cannot legally investigate and stop it from denying future customers full net metering. The ICC, in a statement, says that it is hopeful that Ameren will be required to provide full net metering to new customers again by October 23.
