Arizona Government Targets Solar Energy Users

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, we have been looking for a way to bring clean, renewable energy to everyone while staying cost effective.

Solar energy is one off the most popular forms of renewable energy, capturing sunlight through solar panels and converting it into energy for homeowners to use.

This should theoretically make energy bills much cheaper, as it is coming from a free source. Arizona utility companies beg to differ.

Solar Charge

The Arizona Corporation Commission, the public utilities commission in Arizona is aiming to raise rates for all Arizona residents. The rates would rise about 8% over the current prices, bumping normal rates by $10 to $12 a month, while solar users will see increases closer to $15.

The Vice President of one of Arizona's largest solar panel installers, Michael O'Donnell thinks that this is an outrage. He believes that this change will force solar customers to go from paying $80 to $120 just to connect to the grid, and this includes those who are self-sustaining and producing their weight in energy with solar panels.

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What This Means

The approval of this change means that results are going to be seen very soon. The ACC seems to be dedicated to pushing solar power out of the general public by making the service less affordable. In fact, heads of the ACC sent the bill through without much thought or concern for their customer's wallets.

Arizonans are not happy about the change and have begun to rally against it. Over 2,000 Arizona residents and businesses have publicly spoken out about the price spike, with almost all against the change.