Vote Solar is appealing the district courts ruling that reinstated net metering for existing customers, grandfathering the policy for those customers. The original lawsuit called for net metering to be put back in place for all customers after the PUCN eliminated it. The appeal calls for net metering to be offered by the electric utilities to all customers as required by Nevada law.
The solar advocacy group is represented by local counsel and Earthjustice. Attorney from Earthjustice, Sara Gersen, said, “Nevada law requires utilities to offer net metering. By ensuring the Commission follows the law, the Nevada Supreme Court can put clean energy back within reach for many Nevadans.”
A ruling which brings back net metering would be a big improvement for solar workers in Nevada. Last week, National Geographic’s Years of Living Dangerously covered the affair interviewing Sunrun which left the State along with SolarCity and Vivint Solar, costing Nevada thousands of jobs. A stunning image of boxes stacked on boxes labeled ‘cancelled jobs’ gave a visual representation of the impacts caused by the 3 utility regulators.
Vote Solar is seeking to bring the State back on track by asked for relief. At the same time, Vote Solar’s Jessica Scott is on an advisory committee for distributed generation for the Governor’s New Energy Industry Task Force in the attempt to move other avenues forward for solar supporters in Nevada. About the chances in the legal challenge, Scott said, “We have a strong legal case for reversing the decision for future solar customers and look forward to having a full discussion of the facts at the Supreme Court.”