Chris Cooper
[Montclair, NJ] - States that want to encourage homeowners and small businesses to generate their own renewable energy should look to New Jersey’s “net metering” program as a model. New Jersey’s program, which allows customers to “bank” electricity into the central transmission grid and sell the excess back to their utility, was recognized as the best in the country by the New York-based Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC). NNEC compared 34 states with similar programs in a new report ‘Freeing the Grid: How Effective State Net Metering Laws Can Revolutionize U.S. Energy Policy (click for pdf of full report).
At the home of Matt and Susan Fine, Montclair homeowners participating in New Jersey’s net metering program, NNEC awarded its “Golden Meter Award” to Jeanne Fox, President of New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities, in recognition of her efforts to spearhead the program.
Click here for New Jersey Network News coverage of the press conference. (Click on "quickview").
“Net metering turns everything we know about electricity production on its head,” noted NNEC Executive Director Chris Cooper. "Every homeowner and every small business can become a small, renewable energy power plant for their neighborhood.”
“All over New Jersey, homeowners and small businesses are investing in new renewable energy systems that allow them to generate their own clean electricity. While other states crafted burdensome rules and complex requirements for self-generation, New Jersey looked for ways to encourage energy self-reliance and helped jump-start a robust renewable energy services Market in the state,” Cooper said.
In accepting the award on behalf of New Jersey, Jeanne Fox noted that the program’s success owed much to successful collaboration with the state’s utilities:
“The Board and I want to share the ‘Golden Meter Award’ with the four electric utilities that service the state’s residents,” Fox said. “They have been full partners with us in developing this model program. Our net metering program is just one of many examples that demonstrate New Jersey’s leadership in making energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available to Garden State residents.”
“The success of this program speaks volumes about what can be accomplished when government and the private sector work together to address tough policy issues,” noted Fred Lynk, who manages demand-side marketing programs for Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), an investor-owned utility servicing Montclair, New Jersey. “What differentiates New Jersey’s efforts from those in other parts of the country is the close collaboration between the state and the utilities.”
NNEC’s report includes model regulations for states that want to mimic New Jersey’s success. However, NNEC noted that, ultimately federal regulations would help standardize net metering practices, would provide a level playing-field for the manufacturers of renewable energy systems and would be more predictable than dozens of inconsistent state-based programs.
“A national net metering program would provide a level of regulatory predictability that should be embraced by the growing number of utilities operating across states,” concludes NNEC’s report. “Even for utilities focused exclusively on the bottom line, the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”
For more information, contact:
Shaun Chapman
Shaun@NewEnergyChoices.org
212-991-1831
Reeling In New York's Aging Power Plants
The Economics of Closed Cycle Cooling in New York
