WY Supreme Court Rules Against High Plains Power’s Plan To Reduce Payout To Solar Owners

In a precedent-setting decision issued this past Friday, August 30th, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down High Plains Power’s policy to cut by approximately 80 percent the compensation paid to rooftop solar owners for the power they produce and share with the electric grid.

The decision now forces the Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) to reconsider what is a just and reasonable rate to compensate solar owners.

Had the PSC’s approval of High Plains Power’s policy been upheld, it would have negatively impacted hundreds of existing and future solar homeowners and businesses and the roughly dozen Wyoming small businesses that install solar panels across the state, providing jobs and revenue for Wyoming’s future.

“Most businesses and homeowners invest in on-site solar generation to gain a degree of energy independence, a source of clean energy, AND a reasonable financial return on investment. Today’s decision helps to preserve a simple and fair compensation structure for future solar investors and, most importantly, prevents HPP from reducing the compensation expected by their members already using solar,” said Scott Kane, co-owner of Lander-based Creative Energies, the company responsible for installing many of the rooftop solar systems within the High Plains service area. 

The Court struck down the PSC’s 2023 decision authorizing High Plains Power to reduce the compensation it gives to customers who generate solar power and send it to the grid.

Wyoming’s net metering statute requires utilities to credit customers for the excess solar power they provide at the same retail rate they pay for the electricity they consume from the grid.

However, High Plains switched to compensating net-metered customers for their excess generation by paying them on a monthly basis at a much lower rate, called avoided cost.

This change meant that customers could no longer roll over generation credits, dramatically reducing the financial benefit of having solar panels.

Not wanting the precedent of High Plains Power’s action to stand or influence other utilities, and seeking to represent the interests of their membership, Powder River Basin Resource Council and Wyoming Outdoor Council intervened in the PSC proceedings reviewing High Plains Power’s proposal in 2022 and later appealed the PSC’s split 2–1 decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

“We’re pleased that the Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that the High Plains and the PSC actions were in violation of the law. If left to stand, it would have paved the path for other electric utilities to enact similar policies rendering customers’ solar investments much less economic and gravely threatening Wyoming’s growing solar industry,” said Bob LeResche, Powder River Basin Resource Council Board Member, and solar-owner member of the rural electric cooperative Powder River Energy Corporation near Clearmont, Wyoming. 

“We are grateful that the terms on which we chose to make an investment in a solar system will be maintained. We hope that the rooftop solar industry will continue to grow, providing more jobs and more distributed electricity,” stated Elizabeth Aranow, a High Plains Power solar owning customer.

Information Courtesy: Powder River Basin Resource Council