Rocky Mountain Power implements new net billing rates in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho — Rocky Mountain Power continues to support the desire of customers who want to own their own power generation systems. Part of this objective is to establish a sustainable and fair program for customers who want to generate some of their own power, while keeping their connection to Rocky Mountain Power’s system. Most of these customer-owned systems are solar photovoltaic arrays.

The work to design a more sustainable customer generation program began in 2019 with hearings before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC), together with technical studies submitted by the utility to the IPUC for review. In October 2020, the IPUC ruled that existing customers on Schedule 135, Net Metering Service, will remain on the existing schedule for 25 years, before transferring to the new program, Schedule 136, Net Billing Service. Under Schedule 136, new self-generating customers, who installed systems after October 2020, would continue to offset some or all of their energy usage while receiving a billing credit at retail rates for the excess energy they export to the utility’s system, but were notified that the credit they receive for exported energy was subject to change in the future. Additional study and analysis followed to determine a sustainable export credit rate that would be fair for all Idaho customers of Rocky Mountain Power.

Rocky Mountain Power proposes that the export credit be updated annually so that the credits awarded for energy exported to the utility grid would accurately reflect their economic value over time.

“This change to the program will ensure that Idaho customers who generate some of their own power will receive fair value for the excess power they export to the utility grid,” said Robert Meredith, director, pricing and tariff policy. “The new export credit rate also ensures that other customers are held economically indifferent between whether they receive energy from their neighbor’s rooftop solar system or from any other source.”

For residential customers on the non-legacy Schedule 136, Rocky Mountain Power is asking to implement the proposed changes effective October 1, 2025. Specifically, Rocky Mountain Power is requesting that the value of the credit for exported energy would change from the retail rate, valued around 9 to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers, to a time differentiated financial bill credit that would be approximately 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, but that would be updated annually.

For residential customers on the new Schedule 136, Rocky Mountain Power evaluated 2023/2024 data to assess how customer bills may be affected by the proposed change in the export credit rate. The 2023/2024 average monthly bill for residential customers under the current net monthly compensation structure is $52. Under the proposed Schedule 136, Net Billing Service, the average bill would increase to $89, resulting in an average increase of approximately $37 per month or 72%.

Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed export credit proposal is subject to approval by the IPUC. Customers may review the proposed on-site generation compensation structure, including the methodologies behind the net billing and excess energy export credit rate changes.

Copies of the application are available to the public:

• At the IPUC offices, 11331 W. Chinden Blvd. Building 8, Suite 201-A, Boise, ID 83714, or puc.idaho.gov.
• Rocky Mountain Power offices: Preston, 509 S. 2nd East; Shelley, 852 E. 1400 North; Montpelier, 24852 U.S. Hwy 89.
• On the web at RockyMountainPower.net/ExportCredit. Customers can also learn more about customer generation at RockyMountainPower.net/CustomerGen.

Customers also may subscribe to the IPUC’s RSS feed to receive periodic updates via email about the case.

Written comments regarding Rocky Mountain Power's proposal (Case No. PAC-E-25-02) may be filed with the IPUC (puc.idaho.gov/Form/CaseComment).