Residential Solar in Kansas – YOUR ACTION NEEDED
Kansas’s 2 largest electric companies are imposing unfair penalties on residential solar energy.
- Updated 10/11/2018
- Kansas residential solar owners who are customers of Westar and KCP&L will see dramatic rate increases, nearly eliminating any financial benefits of going solar.
- Westar’s rate increases have already been approved, and KCP&L’s are under review and expected to pass as well. The two companies have recently merged into a company called Evergy.
- An average home with solar will see additional charges, based on the size of their installed solar systems, ranging anywhere from $64 to $120/month.
- Surcharges will be retroactive, negatively impacting systems installed in 2015 or after.
- In comparison, neighboring states Missouri and Colorado, offer solar incentives to residents, recognizing the environmental, property value and financial benefits of residential solar.
Why the new charges?
- Westar & KCP&L argue that solar customers are unfairly shifting their fair share of operating costs to other rate payers.
- Yet, the Brookings Institute conducted a study that showed that contrary to Westar and KCP&L’s claims, solar net-metering is actually a benefit to the power company and other customers. | Read Article
- In addition, solar puts electricity back into the grid, reducing the demand during peak summer hours.
Read op-ed from the Wichita Eagle: “KCC better have the backs of state’s solar-power customers”
What can you do?
Send the message loud and clear, Kansans want policy that will support energy efficiency and sustainability efforts rather than penalizing residents who install solar! Rate increases targeting solar owners are unfair and unwarranted, sending Kansas backwards, in comparison to other states who are embracing the movement for more affordable living, cleaner air, and increased property values.
Express your opinions to the following:
- The Kansas Corporation Commission is a Governor-appointed board with the stated mission of protecting the state’s environmental resources. Its decisions to approve solar surcharges are in direct opposition to that mission.
Submit your comments for the KCC HERE.
- Contact CURB, Kansas’s Citizen’s Utility Ratepayer Board. The board has been appointed the task of protecting utility consumers by assuring fair rates and efficient energy resources.
- Contact your state legislators.
Click here to search for your state legislators and their contact information