Utility alternatives for solar energy

Arguments associated with the utility industry's role and responsibility in developing solar energy are presented. Issues surrounding public utility involvement include developing full public policy support and differentiating between centralized and dispersed systems of solar power generation. Utilities are able to muster both the personnel and financial resources to develop and evaluate the technology to deal with the climatic, wind, cost, and other factors affecting centralized utility services. There are more complex issues, however, in the case of dispersed systems because each system has its own demand petterns and a unique set of administration and consumer relationships that complicate rate setting. When individual customers install solar equipment that meshes with the utility, they are introducing unregulated energy into a regulated system. Four strategies are outlined that range from no connection between the utility and the solar equipment to all equipment treated as a part of the utility. Billing for these strategies would range from straight metering to customer charges based on Btus consumed. A rate-base approach entails several major regulatory and legal issues, including state and Federal utility statutes, Federal antitrust laws, and financing and depreciation procedures.