Colorado Dispute Over Solar Power Reflects National Trend

(Photo: Courtesy of Bob Carmichael Photography)

A rate dispute between an electricity cooperative that serves a large swath of Colorado and its residential solar power customers is part of a national conflict between the utilities and the solar industry.

The Denver Post reports that the Intermountain Rural Electric Cooperative has agreed to review its proposal to cut residential credits for solar energy. The co-op serves a large swath of Colorado from the Eastern Plans to the central mountains.

The review comes after customers complained about cutting the credit and adding new charge based on peak demand.

The Denver Post reports that there are cases in 30 states where utilities are challenging distributed solar energy.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has also been meeting about the net-metering costs for Xcel Energy, the state's biggest utility.