Rooftop solar customers in Kansas await a late December decision by regulators whether they will be forced by Evergy to pay higher electricity rates for using renewable energy.
Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club call it a move by Evergy “to price-gouge customers putting solar panels on their homes.” Evergy has proposed a grid access fee on solar customers and the Sierra Club calls it “illegal” claiming it would amount to another $35 per month for them.
Kansas Corporation Commissioners last month heard testimony in the controversial case and will take public comment until December 21. The commission’s Public Affairs and Consumer Protection division is to have a report summarizing the comments by Dec. 30. A decision by the commission is not expected until sometime in 2021.
The case began in 2018 when Evergy, then known as Westar Energy, Inc. and Kansas Gas and Electric filed an application for a nearly $53 million rate hike.
The KCC issued an order stating the evidence showed the solar customers “usage patterns” and not their use of renewable energy was the basis for paying a different rate. The order ended up before the Kansas Supreme Court which reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and sent it back to the KCC.
