Omar B. from Tucson. Is anyone else seeing renewable surcharges and clean energy riders getting completely out of control? TEP just increased their Renewable Energy Standard surcharge from $0.00234/kWh to $0.00891/kWh effective this month. That's nearly a 300% increase and it's hitting our commercial clients hard. One restaurant client is seeing an extra $340/month just from this rider alone.
Renewable surcharges getting out of hand?
Ian P. in Riverside CA. Same story here with Southern California Edison. Their Green Rate renewable premium went from $0.005/kWh to $0.0127/kWh this year. Small manufacturing client is paying an extra $2,100 monthly. Starting to question whether opting into green programs makes financial sense anymore.
Jennifer C. in Anchorage. Different situation up here but Chugach Electric's renewable portfolio costs are being spread across fewer customers, so our rates are jumping even faster. Their Fire Island wind project surcharge hit $0.0156/kWh last month. Some clients are asking about opting out but Alaska doesn't allow it.
Randy Dawson here. This is becoming a major issue across multiple states. The challenge is that many renewable surcharges were designed when programs were much smaller, so the cost recovery mechanisms don't scale well. In Tennessee, TVA's Green Power Switch premium has stayed relatively stable at $0.004/kWh, but that's because they've been more conservative about renewable procurement timelines. The real problem comes when utilities rush to meet aggressive renewable portfolio standards without proper cost controls.
Lyle R. from Fargo. Otter Tail Power's renewable rider is actually decreasing here in North Dakota - went from $0.00445/kWh to $0.00312/kWh this year. Their wind projects are now generating revenue instead of just costs. Geographic differences in wind resources make a huge difference in these surcharges.
Brian S. in Salt Lake City. Rocky Mountain Power's Schedule 34 renewable adjustment is all over the map - some months it's a credit, other months it's a huge charge. Last month was $0.0089/kWh surcharge, this month it's a $0.0023/kWh credit. Makes budgeting impossible for clients.
Brian S. - that volatility is exactly what we're seeing too. TEP's surcharge swings wildly based on renewable energy credit prices and whether their solar plants are producing above or below forecast. Clients are asking for fixed-price alternatives but there aren't any good options.
Craig P. in Portland. Oregon situation is interesting - PGE's renewable surcharges are actually declining because they built a lot of wind capacity early when costs were lower. But Portland General Electric customers are seeing increases in "grid modernization" charges that accomplish similar things. Sometimes the costs just get reshuffled to different line items.
Pete M. in Boise. Idaho Power's renewable surcharges have been reasonable so far but they're projecting significant increases over the next three years as they add more solar capacity. The scary part is there's no opt-out provision and no cap on the surcharges in the tariff language.
Randy Dawson following up. For anyone dealing with rapidly increasing renewable surcharges, it's worth checking if your state PUC has annual review requirements for these riders. Some states require utilities to justify the costs annually, others just let them adjust quarterly based on formulas. Tennessee requires TVA to file detailed cost justifications every two years, which helps keep the surcharges reasonable. Also look for "true-up" provisions that might provide credits if surcharges collected exceed actual costs.
Randy D. - checked Arizona Corporation Commission rules and TEP is supposed to file annual surcharge justifications but their last filing was 18 months ago. Might be worth filing a complaint about outdated surcharge rates. Thanks for the tip about true-up provisions - found some language in Rider-16 that might apply.