Hawaii shuts down net metering to new customers

Net metering has been a controversial topic in the United States. The policy serves as a fundamental support for distributed solar, but is increasingly coming under fire from utilities who say that PV system owners are not paying their fair share for use of the grid. In Hawaii, this has taken a sharp turn, with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (HPUC) issuing a ruling to close net metering to new applicants in the service territory of Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO), effective immediately. Hawaii has the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the nation, with an estimated 12% of rooftops hosting PV systems. Customer-sited distributed generation, which is dominated by rooftop PV, represented 5.7% of the electricity generated in 2014 in HECO's service territory. This includes most of the island chain, and doesn't count utility-scale solar. The state has also set a mandate for utilities to procure 100% of their electricity from renewable energy sources in 2045. HPUC has stated that as it moves towards this target, net metering must go. "A transition away from net metering is essential to ensure all customers benefit from continued growth in distributed energy, not just those who have the ability to install solar PV or other forms of distributed energy resources," declared the agency. The order will affect any new PV systems with application dates after October ...

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