PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION REJECTS MGE's PROPOSED CHANGES TO RESIDENTIAL SOLAR REIMBURSEMENT

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has rejected a proposal by Madison Gas & Electric that would have changed how the utility reimburses residential solar owners for energy they put back into the grid. 

State regulators are expected to make a decision on a different utility's proposal to change solar reimbursement at a later time. 

Madison Gas & Electric, or MGE, included the proposal in its request to increase electric rates for 2024 and 2025. The mechanism that credits solar owners for the electricity they add to the grid is known as net metering. 

MGE has said its net metering proposal sought to merge billing rates for large and small solar energy systems through a pilot program. Under the current structure, large-system customers receive 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour generated into the grid, while residential customers receive 13 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to a document filed with the commission. Under the proposal, new residential customers would have received rebates more in line with those of large business customers.