LIPA solar fee a sensible deal

The companies that sell residential solar systems on Long Island have a public relations dilemma. They say a proposed charge that would average about $8 a month on new Long Island systems is large enough to cripple their sales.

But they also have to sell prospective buyers on solar, and claiming that an $8 charge makes the systems unattractive doesn’t match that pitch.

Luckily for them, residential solar on Long Island can be a good deal for customers, even with the fee.

Wednesday, the Long Island Power Authority board will decide whether to accept a new contract with PSEG intended to improve performance after the utility's disastrous response to superstorm Isaias, and that deal, while certain to go through, is getting most of the attention. This modified pact is far better than the old contract, and will keep the for-profit power flowing for now as advocates of municipalization keep pushing their vision forward.

But LIPA's vote on the new charge, a customer benefit contribution on owners of residential systems installed after Dec. 31, is important, too. Current solar owners would be grandfathered out of the fee, intended to help fund energy efficiency programs and discounts for low-income customers.

The fee, already charged by every other electric utility in New York, would be 89 cents monthly per kilowatt-hour. Long Island systems average 9 kwh.

And LIPA’s proposed customer benefit contribution would be the lowest in the state, 20% lower than Con Ed’s.

In well-situated homes, the systems, which average $30,000, more than pay for themselves. The federal government rebates 26% of the purchase price, slated to decline to 22% in 2023. The power generated, whether used by the customer or sold to LIPA, is enough that the customer usually pays a lower total cost after installing the system than before. And the systems last 25 years, but are usually paid off more quickly, leaving plenty of profit.

The solar companies concede that point, but argue that at first the net bill reduction, after saving on power but paying for the system, is $20 to $30 a month, so $8 is a big chunk. But solar customers stay attached to the grid because they sometimes need power from LIPA, and sometimes sell power to LIPA. And in a month when they use no LIPA power, they pay just $13.20 for their share of the system.

The best argument against this fee is that we should erect no obstacles in the push to encourage renewables. But this power transition, intended to make energy generation in New York carbon-free by 2040, also demands that we all continue to support LIPA’s generation capacity, transmission and distribution systems, and programs helping our less fortunate neighbors.

The fact that solar owners don’t generally have to pay for their power shouldn’t mean they don’t support the system that keeps them up and running when the sun won’t.