A group in the community is pushing the City Council to increase base electric rates then divert some of the money to support the installation of solar panels. It’s a form of what are called ‘feed-in tariffs’ or FiTs. I wrote about them in today’s Coloradoan, which you can read here.
The Chamber doesn’t have an official position on FiTs yet but any scheme to increase base utility rates then divert the revenues to some other purpose needs to be looked at carefully. We wanted to signal to the Council and FiT proponents that we’re paying attention and expect them to be thoughtful and inclusive in their consideration. FiTs may or may not be a good idea, but don’t assume they are just because a group of advocates has been lobbying for their adoption. Here’s a background paper the Chamber wrote on FiTs last year.