November 2023 Update: Alliant’s proposed changes to solar billing and metering were rejected by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
Alliant has proposed a new system for billing and metering solar customers called Power Partnership that would begin January 1st, 2026. We are currently waiting to see if the new proposal is approved by the Public Service Commission, but we are almost certain it will pass. Here are some of the details of the new rate structure:
A switch from monthly (billing cycle) metering to hourly metering. Instead of net metering on a monthly basis, Alliant will meter every 60 minutes, with the homeowner adding either charges or credit to their bill every hour. All solar homeowners with solar would automatically be switched to time-of-use billing.
Significantly higher buyback rates of access energy production. Any excess energy production at the end of each hour will be purchased back by the utility at a rate of, roughly, the time-of-use wholesale rate plus a solar-value-rate adder of about $0.064/kWh.
The base “wholesale” rate of electricity for 2024 will be $0.07057 from 11am to 7pm in the summer, so during the prime solar production hours, the hourly buyback rate of excess electricity would be $0.13457. This would build up a lot of credits that can be used to offset evening and winter electricity usage, which is why the new rate structure may actually be economically better for some homeowners. In comparison, the monthly buyback rate will be $0.04877 for Alliant customers in 2024.
The solar-value adder will be “locked in” every two years, can only go up or down by 15% every-other-year, and must be PSC approved, so changes must clearly demonstrate why the value of additional solar energy has changed. Bottom line- the solar-value adder may change but it will be slow and predictable.
Addition of a non-bypassable monthly charge of $10. Currently, Alliant customers can use their excess energy credits to pay for their monthly base charge, but under Power Partnership, a $10 monthly charge would be on your bill no matter what- credits could not be used to pay for it. Instead, all of your credits would roll over to subsequent months.
Current net metering would remain until December 31, 2025. New customers with installations under 20 kW will be able to choose between net metering and Power Partnership until Dec. 31, 2025. Any homeowners who go solar before December 31, 2025 can lock-in the current rate structure and become legacy customers for about 10 years.
Legacy treatment for about 10 years. Any homeowners who go solar before December 31, 2025 will not be moved into the new Power Partnership until January 1, 2033