New joint testimony led by the Photo voltaic Power Industries Affiliation (SEIA) reveals that for the final 11 years, Georgia Energy Firm (GPC) has been drastically overcharging all utility clients, far exceeding the income degree set by the Georgia Public Service Fee (PSC).
GPC is now proposing a big price hike that can cost Georgians a further $16.29 monthly on common, in addition to a steep $200 interconnection payment for rooftop photo voltaic clients. SEIA’s evaluation reveals that GPC’s declare of a cost-shift onto non-solar clients is wholly unsubstantiated, particularly in mild of the monopoly utility’s decade-long apply of overcharging Georgia residents and companies.
“When utilities really feel threatened by clients selecting photo voltaic and exercising their power freedom, all ratepayers get squeezed,” mentioned Kevin Lucas, SEIA’s senior director of utility regulation and coverage and lead writer of the joint testimony. “Georgia Energy Firm has been over-collecting from Georgian’s electrical payments by a mean of $26 yearly over the past 11 years. These extreme expenses add as much as $1.87 billion in extra income for the utility on the expense of all Georgia residents and companies. If that wasn’t sufficient, GPC is now asking state regulators to approve extra price hikes and price construction adjustments that can penalize photo voltaic clients and remove decisions for ratepayers to manage their payments.”
The joint testimony, submitted with Vote Photo voltaic and the Georgia Photo voltaic Power Industries Affiliation (GASEIA), options SEIA’s evaluation and focuses on how the proposed price adjustments are supposed to confuse clients with demand expenses which might be obscure and troublesome for purchasers to handle. The evaluation reveals that just about all clients would have saved cash on a unique price construction, however the PSC has not held any hearings to contemplate a more cost effective construction.
SEIA’s evaluation additionally reveals that GPC’s over-collection expenses peaked in 2020 and 2021 and led to just about $500 million in extra income. This occurred as greater than 131,000 GPC clients had their energy disconnected in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Georgia households are already feeling the pressure of inflation, and Georgia Energy’s price hikes are each pointless and exorbitant,” mentioned Allison Kvien, Vote Photo voltaic’s Southeast Regulatory Director. “The Public Service Fee has a chance to guard the rights of ratepayers to decide on photo voltaic for his or her houses of companies. I urge them to rise to the event and prioritize power freedom over the revenue margins of monopoly utilities.”
The joint testimony urges the PSC to reject GPC’s proposed $200 interconnection payment for photo voltaic clients. The testimony additionally urges the PSC to strengthen its oversight of utilities to stop over-collection from ratepayers and empower buyer selection.
Information merchandise from SEIA
