Part 2: IRA incentives for low-income community solar
New applications for pre-existing solutions
In my previous article in this series, we delved into the multitude of ways that the Treasury Dept.’s guidance on the IRA’s Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program could potentially fail the very communities we are all aiming to help. By mandating that the benefits of the IRA’s community solar program can only be delivered as utility bill savings, without nationwide net crediting (also known as utility consolidated billing), the IRS created a convoluted system with unintended hurdles and risks for low-income participants.
As a reminder as to the crux of the issue, low-income households that enroll in community solar programs in states without net crediting will receive two bills: one from their community solar provider to pay for the community solar credits applied to their utility account and one from their utility reflecting any remaining usage/bill spend not offset by the community solar credits. While these households are guaranteed savings of at least a 20% discount per the IRA rules, realizing this value doesn’t come simply. For instance, community solar credits applied to a bill in June might not be invoiced until August when the utility actually shares required data with project managers, like PowerMarket. Subscribers, understandably, are confused since they naturally look at their most recent bill to reconcile their payment for credits. This inherent delay is a fundamental reality in community solar that results in avoidable frustration from mass market subscribers. This further escalates stress around a customer’s electric bill and increases the likelihood that a participant will miss a payment and go into default. These concerns are amplified for unbanked or underbanked individuals, who need to use methods of payment other than checks or direct deposit, which can be more burdensome and prone to defaulted payments.
There are solutions, but let’s first look at how states have previously implemented programs to deliver financial benefit to low-income households.
Go to Solar Power World to read the full article.
As a reminder as to the crux of the issue, low-income households that enroll in community solar programs in states without net crediting will receive two bills: one from their community solar provider to pay for the community solar credits applied to their utility account and one from their utility reflecting any remaining usage/bill spend not offset by the community solar credits. While these households are guaranteed savings of at least a 20% discount per the IRA rules, realizing this value doesn’t come simply. For instance, community solar credits applied to a bill in June might not be invoiced until August when the utility actually shares required data with project managers, like PowerMarket. Subscribers, understandably, are confused since they naturally look at their most recent bill to reconcile their payment for credits. This inherent delay is a fundamental reality in community solar that results in avoidable frustration from mass market subscribers. This further escalates stress around a customer’s electric bill and increases the likelihood that a participant will miss a payment and go into default. These concerns are amplified for unbanked or underbanked individuals, who need to use methods of payment other than checks or direct deposit, which can be more burdensome and prone to defaulted payments.
There are solutions, but let’s first look at how states have previously implemented programs to deliver financial benefit to low-income households.
Go to Solar Power World to read the full article.
