EP Electric Plan for Solar Rate Class Takes Hit
Customer classes
Shockley said different customer classes are needed to represent the different costs to serve those classes. The ideal customer, he said, would be a big manufacturing plant that is churning day and night. El Paso Electric can predict with certainty how much power they will need, and how much it will cost to deliver it.
The further you get from that model, the more expensive the costs are. Solar owners, who may go for weeks at a time without using any power, are on the opposite end.
Larry Perea of Solar Smart Living in Sunland Park, argued that El Paso Electric has to squeeze money from homeowners to cover recent investments in new power plants that sit idle most of the time.
“The more efficient the homeowner gets, the further away they’re going to get from the revenue target they need from that homeowner,” he said. “That model is really messed up.”
