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Kaysville Suspends Credits for Rooftop Solar Customers

Courtesy www.kaysvilleutah.net

Kaysville residents who want to install solar panels on their houses are discovering that the city has changed its policies, and they won’t get any credit for the excess power they produce.

Kaysville resident Mark Treu says he’s wanted solar panels for years.

“I see the pollution, and it’s disgusting to me, and any contribution I can make to improve our environment is a big motivation,” says Treu.  

He was planning to install the panels by the end of this year, but this week, Treu was surprised to learn that the Kaysville City Council voted unanimously last month to impose a moratorium on net metering for new solar installations. That means he would not get any credit for excess electricity sent back to the grid.

“There’s no way we can do this without the cost savings associated with the net metering agreement any time in the next four to five years,” Treu says.  

City Council member Susan Lee says she’s in favor of solar, but the city still has to purchase the same power, regardless of whether there are solar customers feeding into the grid.

“There is the concern that if there is so many that there are doing it, then the rest of us who don’t have solar panels are going to be paying more to subsidize those who have it,” Lee says. “So there’s got to be a balance that comes into play with that.”

The request for a moratorium came from Bruce Rigby of Kaysville Power who told the council that unexpected growth in solar rooftop customers may impact utility costs. The city currently has 50 people on the net metering program, but has been receiving 2 to 3 new requests per week. Rigby declined an interview, but said the city needs to review its policies to make sure they are fair and equitable. The moratorium went into effect on July 1st, and will sunset in six months.

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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