A Climate to Thrive’s urgent call to action
Republished from May 23 ACTT director’s memo:
Dear ACTT Community and all those in support of an equitable clean energy transition to preserve a livable future:
In lieu of a May newsletter, please read and act on the urgent call to action contained below. I believe this is the first urgent call to action we have sent to this list since ACTT's formation, as we do not send these lightly.Please consider following the call below tomorrow, Wednesday, May 24. We'll follow-up with a June newsletter next week.
Thank you!
Johannah Blackman
Executive Director
From Beth Woolfolk, ACTT Manager of Renewable Energy Policy and Planning:
Over the past few months, there has been a steady narrative in the press around the anticipated high costs of community solar. This narrative ignores the tangible and proven quantifiable benefits of distributed generation. This perspective, that solar will cost Maine ratepayers $220 million, has largely been pushed by the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA). However, multiple studies have shown that the Net Energy Billing (NEB) program in Maine provides ratepayers with net benefits. Both the Daymark Study (2021) and the Synapse Study (2022, page 37) report benefits, including tangible economic benefits (such as grid upgrades and reduced supply costs) as well as environmental benefits. However, utilities are not accounting for program benefits in their rate design, and, even more, utilities show lost revenue (i.e. solar customers buying less power) as a cost. This is, quite simply, bad math.
Despite these facts, the OPA has introduced legislation in Augusta to repeal our state’s Net Energy Billing (NEB) program, which would move us backward to LePage-era solar policies, and potentially retroactively destroy all existing NEB projects. The OPA's proposal has been inserted as an amendment to LD 1347, a bill that was heard last month. The bill is scheduled for a work session on Thursday. By inserting the language as an amendment, rather than as a new bill, the Office of the Public Advocate bypasses, and we lose, the opportunity to bring many new voices to a public hearing, which is very unfortunate and misaligned with public advocacy.
In response, TOMORROW, May 24, we must contact our Legislators, prioritizing Democrats on the Energy, Utility and Technology Committee, especially Representatives Zeigler, Boyle, Geiger, Runte, and Warren. We anticipate that these folks are supportive of NEB, but we want to make sure they hear loud and clear from the Maine community that they have the support, and thus the political cover, to strongly oppose the OPA’s proposal in LD 1347. The goal is to be friendly, but shore them up and offer support. Please consider calling or emailing these folks tomorrow regardless of your district, as well as your direct Legislators. Talking points are included below the following contact information:
Name
Phone
Sen. Mark Lawrence (Chair) (D)
Eliot; Kittery; Ogunquit; South Berwick; and York.
Mark.Lawrence@legislature.maine.gov
(207) 475-4975
Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D)
Bar Harbor, Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Cranberry Isles, Deer Isle, Ellsworth, Frenchboro, Isle au Haut, Lamoine, Mount Desert, Orland, Penobscot, Sedgwick, Southwest Harbor, Stonington, Surry, Swan’s Island, Tremont, Trenton, and Verona Island
Nicole.Grohoski@legislature.maine.gov
(207) 358-8333
Rep. Stanley Paige Zeigler (Chair) (D)
Appleton, Islesboro, Liberty, Lincolnville, Montville, Morrill, Searsmont
StanleyPaige.Zeigler@legislature.maine.gov
Rep. Jim Boyle (D)
Gorham (Part)
James.Boyle@legislature.maine.gov
(207) 756-2928
Rep. Valli Geiger (D)
Criehaven Township, Matinicus Isle Plantation, Muscle Ridge Islands,
North Haven, Owls Head (Part), Rockland
Valli.Geiger@legislature.maine.gov
(207) 956-1565
Rep. Chris Kessler (D)
Cape Elizabeth (Part), South Portland (Part)
Christopher.Kessler@legislature.maine.gov
(207) 956-0882
Rep. Gerry Runte (D)
Ogunquit, Wells, York
Walter.Runte@legislature.maine.gov
Rep. Sophie Warren (D)
Scarborough (Part)
Sophie.Warren@legislature.maine.gov
(207) 450-0765
Some talking points:
Community solar will not cost Mainers millions of dollars. The Office of the Public Advocate’s cost estimates are grossly exaggerated, as they are based on undisclosed utility math and do not account for real economic benefits.
We can improve Maine’s solar policies to ensure low-income ratepayers are not harmed.We can make thoughtful changes to ensure the Commercial & Industrial Tariff Program within Net Energy Billing provides net benefits to all ratepayers. We can fix concerns about regressive rates without retroactive changes.
We have the solutions at our fingertips. We can enact proactive policy solutions today that have already been developed by a diverse stakeholder group to address these very issues. We do not need to repeal the entire program. LD 1986 is a solution, a bill that enacts the work of theDistributed Generation Stakeholder working group. This bill helps Maine receive money from the Inflation Reduction Act and requires the accounting of benefits in all cost evaluations of the NEB program. We’re grateful to now have a tangible way to point to a solution and say: enact LD 1986, and reject any and all repeal and or retroactive proposals.
Best,
Beth
May 23, 2023
Thanks for posting this!