CMP’s intended ‘standby fee’ to penalize solar customers has been abandoned, but in its place is a system-wide increase of $3/mo on electric bills.
As reported by Tux Turkel:
Home customers of Central Maine Power Co. would see their overall bills rise roughly $3 a month if a rate-case settlement proposed by the utility and endorsed by key business and environmental parties is accepted by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
The settlement also would “decouple” the revenue CMP earns from electricity sales, adopting a formula that gives the utility an incentive to participate in the state’s energy-efficiency programs, rather than promote electric sales in an attempt to boost earnings.
Gone is a controversial bid to get customers that generate some of their own power from solar and other renewable sources to pay higher monthly service charges.
The settlement agreement, called a stipulation, deals only with the costs of distributing electricity from the street to homes and businesses. It doesn’t include the costs of building large transmission lines or for energy supply, both of which have been rising lately.
CMP filed its proposal with the PUC on Thursday. The commission is expected to deliberate on it July 29.
More: http://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/07/proposed-agreement-would-raise-cmp-home-rates-3-month/