Supporters of Ohio's net metering statute were disappointed with the June 5, 2002 Ohio Supreme Court decision limiting the financial incentives for electric utility consumers who place a solar, wind or other distributed technology on their home or business.  (FirstEnergy Corp. v. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), 95 Ohio St.3d 401, 2002-Ohio-2430). 

Parties urging the Court to support the PUCO position in the Court by amicus curiae briefs were the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), American Wind Energy Assn. (AWEA), Solar Energy Industries Assn. (SEIA), Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy (OPAE), Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) and the Ohio Consumers? Counsel (OCC).

Other states, starting with California in 1995, have enacted net metering laws that allow

net metering customers to offset the full retail rate for excess power into the grid from the customer-generator using solar, wind or other renewable energy systems.  Ohio was the first state to enact a broad net metering statute providing net metering for fuel cells and

microturbines which operate on natural gas, as well as the renewable resources of solar, wind, biomass and hydro. 

The Ohio Supreme Court?s unanimous decision on June 5 means that net metering still  provides a full kilowatt hour rate credit for electricity sent back to the electric grid during a billing period, up to the point where the customer-generator has offset his own usage.  If, at the end of the period, the customer-generator has sent more power back to the grid that he has used, the excess power will now be credited at the rate equivalent to First Energy?s generation cost.  

This means that the full retail rate is not credited by net metering for excess power into the grid since the average generation rate is only about 3.3¢/kilowatt hour of the 12¢/kilowatt hour retail rate for First Energy (numbers are smaller, but in similar proportion for other Ohio investor-owned utilities). 

It is not known how many of the growing number of Ohio renewable energy installations net meter and actually place excess power into the grid.  However, the Ohio Million Solar Roofs Partnership estimates that by the end of 2002 some 106 photovoltaic solar arrays will be installed in Ohio since that federal initiative began in 1997.  Net metering is viewed as one of only a few financial incentives for renewable energy in Ohio, in addition to the low-interest loan fund and Ohio Air Quality Development Authority financing. 

The August 2001 First Energy tariff originally requested by the utility is ratified in part by the Court decision.  First Energy tariff (Ohio Edison Co., Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., and Toledo Edison Co.) and other electric utilities are expected to file draft tariffs at the PUCO proposing modifications consistent with the policy embodied in the Supreme Court decision.  PUCO Staff will then review the proposed tariffs and either recommend changes or Commission approval, including possibly the other investor-owned utility net metering tariffs to clarify the Court decision.  See the PUCO's web site using key word Net Metering and interconnection which was modified after state utility regulators acted on the Court order.