PEPCO, Solar United Neighbors, respond to latest proposal in D.C. community solar violation controversy

After the D.C. Public Service Commission determined Potomac Electric Power Company's (Pepco) Community Renewable Energy Facility (CREF) practices violated district law earlier this year, the commission issued a series of orders, including the requirement to remove Pepco-owned meters from CREF locations in which Pepco says they are actively working to comply with.

“As part of this effort, we are beginning to execute work toward a long-term, automated process to collect meter data from each CREF,” Pepco spokesperson, Addie Kauzlarich, told NPM. “However, an interim process will be required as the automated option is implemented.”

In March 2022, the Office of the People’s Counsel and the D.C. Office of the Attorney General filed a joint complaint alleging that Pepco committed and continues to commit seven violations of district law relating to CREFs and the district’s Solar For All Program.

The violations include failing to account for and remit unsubscribed energy produced, failing to timely and accurately provide subscribers with community net metering credits, and failing to consistently account for carryover credits. The complaint also alleged that Pepco violated the law by installing their own production meters on CREFs.

“Pepco’s actions constitute neglect, waste ratepayer resources, and frustrate the ability of the district to achieve its Carbon Reduction Goals,” the original complaint states.

Pepco did not deny the “underlying facts” in the allegations but argues that their actions are not violative of any law or commission rule, leaving the commission with a question of the law rather than a dispute over facts, the docket states. Pepco listed more than 370 CREFs in one of its filings.

“We became aware of Pepco not properly crediting people who are part of the community solar program and we found that really problematic,” said Liz Veazey, Solar United Neighbors Policy, and Rural Energy Director, in an interview with NPM. Veazey said thousands of D.C. residents may not have been receiving proper or timely credits for community solar, which led them to push the Attorney General and Public Service Commission to open the docket last year. Solar United Neighbors is also working closely with Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law organization, who is providing legal support to engage the docket.

Earlier this summer, the commission directed Pepco to remove its production meters within 45 days and file a report to the commission 15 days thereafter detailing the dates and locations of each removal and meter number for each meter. Pepco’s initial solution was to have CREF owners manually track the energy on an excel spread sheet in the interim.

“Pepco messed up and the burden should be on Pepco and not on these community solar sites to deal with Pepco’s mistake,” Veazey said.

A separate source involved that wished to remain anonymous said it was "ridiculous" that CREF owners were being asked to bear the costs. "It's another hit to folks like us trying to help the District with solar—the more roadblocks and issues like this the more distrust and less investment and jobs into D.C. and in this industry," said the source.

In a recent filing, Pepco said it is proposing a second solution that appears to be less burdensome on CREFs.

“We are making every effort to establish an efficient, equitable process that works for the CREF owners and Pepco, and that minimizes any impact to customers who are subscribed to the CREFs,” said Kauzlarich. “We have heard the concerns regarding our initial interim option that were shared by a subset of CREF owners and representatives, as well as the District Government, and have since filed an amendment with the Commission to offer a second interim option for the CREFs."

The first option includes the CREF owner downloading their monthly and interval data into a standard form and transmitting that form to Pepco for billing purposes.

The second option focuses on Pepco installing a cellular data pack on the CREF to collect the meter data. This option does require the CREF to have certain technical capabilities, such as having a production meter with an available ethernet port, adequate cell reception to permit the reliable transfer of data and access to a nearby power source.

Pepco would then move to an aggregator solution in the longer term, about 12-14 months, that would connect CREF meters to a cloud interface, according to the filing.

Kauzlarich said they are in the process of surveying CREF owners to determine which option they prefer and whether their CREF meets the criteria for a cellular data pack if that is their preferred option.

“We have also recommended one final interim option that would allow CREFs to continue use of the Pepco meter until the permanent, automated solution is in place. We are awaiting input from the Commission on this option,” Kauzlarich said.

Veazey did not agree this was the best approach.

"After talking to multiple CREF owners and trying to better understand what the implications were, we were advocating for Pepco not removing the meters until there is an automated solution for the meter readings,” Veazey said.

“Our goal is to collaborate with the CREF owners and other stakeholders as we complete this work," Kauzlarich said. "We will continue to provide updates and seek input from them as we refine this process and work toward a permanent solution that works for all our teams and to the benefit of our customers."

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers last month.


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