What if I said we could institute a policy in Arizona that would create 10,000 jobs, encourage voluntary investment in clean energy, increase property values and delay the need for utilities to invest in costly new generation and transmission facilities?

Sound farfetched?

Well… that policy went into effect in 2008; it’s called “net metering” and all the above has already occurred. Now, the electric utilities, smelling competition, are fighting to eliminate this policy.

Most of the time, solar panels help power a house, with the remainder of the power coming from the utility. Sometimes solar may produce more power than is used and the excess is sent back through the meter into the grid; the meter actually runs backwards.

At the end of the month, the amount produced by solar is deducted from the total used, and the customer pays the net amount -- this is called “net metering.”

Few if any solar customers create more power annually than they use, but even if they do, the utilities already have a policy to ensure they do not pay more than the market rate for excess solar power -- at the end of the year they zero-out any excess power credit balance at the wholesale rate. So there's already a policy to handle this scenario.

Contrary to the utilities assertions, net metering does not favor solar customers, does not cost non-solar customers a dime; does benefit Arizona companies, and was not created by Obama (policy went into effect in 2008).

The public hearing (which will affect all of us whether we have solar panels or not) is the 13th at 1200 W. Washington, Phoenix. Send an email today to the Arizona Corporation Commission at MailMaster@azcc.gov and request that they reject the argument to eliminate net metering.