Bastrop Power & Light customers with solar panels could soon start getting credits for excess electricity while also paying a new monthly fee under proposed city rules advanced by Bastrop City Council on Aug. 11.
“Right now, anybody [who] has a solar panel, whatever is given back is just given back,” Assistant City Manager Andres Rosales said during the meeting. “It’s free. There’s no offset for the customer. This will create an offset.”
How it works
Bastrop-area solar customers would gain credits for excess power, but would also face a charge based on the size of their system.
BP&L would credit customers at a rate based on what the city saves by not buying that electricity from its wholesale supplier, the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Rosales noted the rate would change as the city’s costs from LCRA change.
The monthly fee would be charged per kilowatt of a system’s capacity, regardless of how much electricity it sends back to the grid.
Digging in
Depending on the rate, some customers may not benefit from the new rules—a concern Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland raised during the meeting.
“What sort of scale are we talking about?” Kirkland asked. “I mean, that could all by itself kill the whole viability of it.”
He questioned what the charge for customers would be; however, Rosales said it was still being calculated.
“We thought we had the number rate locked in, and then it changed,” Rosales said, noting the city is working with LCRA on a few scenarios to keep rates more consistent.
What else?
No meter upgrades should be needed, Rosales said, as existing solar customers already have bidirectional meters.
Customers installing new systems would need to apply through the city and pass inspection.
What’s next?
Council will consider the ordinance again Aug. 25.
If approved, it would take effect Oct. 1 and be reflected on November bills.
