{"id":107731,"date":"2024-11-01T08:57:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T12:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=107731"},"modified":"2024-11-01T08:57:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T12:57:01","slug":"puerto-rico-coalition-speaks-out-protect-solar-net-metering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/2024\/11\/puerto-rico-coalition-speaks-out-protect-solar-net-metering\/","title":{"rendered":"Puerto Rico coalition speaks out to protect solar net metering from oversight board attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

A coalition of 28 organizations, including U.S. and Puerto Rican nonprofits, solar and battery companies, filed a Friend of the Court brief (Amicus) in federal court this week to stand against the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB). The coalition argues that FOMB\u2019s legal attack on Act 10<\/a> \u2014 a law extending Puerto Rico\u2019s net metering program through 2030 \u2014 threatens the island\u2019s progress in solar energy and resilience.<\/p>\n

Act 10, signed into law this January, was passed unanimously by the Puerto Rico House and Senate and was unopposed by the island\u2019s regulator. The law aims to ensure continued access to affordable solar power for Puerto Ricans, by giving solar customers credits on their power bills for every excess kWh of solar energy they shared on the power grid.<\/p>\n

\u201c10% of Puerto Rico\u2019s houses now have solar with backup battery power thanks to the policy of net metering,\u201d said PJ Wilson, executive director of the Solar and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA). \u201cWe\u2019re fighting for the ability of the other 90% to be able to as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOMB asserts<\/a> that Act 10 prevents Puerto Rico\u2019s independent energy regulator, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, from preparing a study required to evaluate the impact of current net metering and energy distribution program until at least 2031, and thus\u00a0undermines the Energy Bureau\u2019s ability to regulate the Puerto Rico energy sector.<\/p>\n

The coalition Amicus Brief supports defensive positions taken in court by the Defendant, Governor Pierluisi and by the President of the Puerto Rico Senate, which has asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed on the grounds that FOMB lacks the authority to interfere with implementation of Act 10, a law which essentially just moves the potential sunset date of a longstanding law from one year to another.<\/p>\n

The Brief explains that FOMB\u2019s opposition to solar power disregards unanimous votes for Act 10 across all five political parties in Puerto Rico\u2019s legislature, spanning the whole political spectrum. In fact, the law enjoys widespread support, including a May 2024 letter from 21 members of the U.S. Congress urging FOMB to drop its harmful attack on solar. A coalition of national and Puerto Rico nonprofits has also called upon the White House to help.<\/p>\n

“Net metering is more than a policy; it\u2019s a pathway to hope for Puerto Ricans facing frequent outages and high energy costs,” said Javier R\u00faa Jovet, public policy director for SESA. “This coalition is standing up to defend net metering because Puerto Rico deserves a reliable, clean energy future that FOMB\u2019s actions seek to undermine.”<\/p>\n

FOMB is a temporary oversight agency created by US Congress in 2016, in reaction to the island\u2019s financial collapse at the time. The primary charge of FOMB was settling the island\u2019s debt, and the entity will dissolve after all bankruptcies on the island are settled, Puerto Rico has regained access to the capital market, and the government has four balanced budgets. All bankruptcies are currently settled except that of PREPA, the island\u2019s sole electric utility.<\/p>\n

News item from SESA<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A coalition of 28 organizations, including U.S. and Puerto Rican nonprofits, solar and battery companies, filed a Friend of the Court brief (Amicus) in federal court this week to stand against the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB). The coalition argues that FOMB\u2019s legal attack on Act 10 \u2014 a law extending…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10031,"featured_media":99385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPuerto Rico coalition speaks out to protect solar net metering from oversight board attack<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A coalition of 28 organizations, including U.S. and Puerto Rican nonprofits, solar and battery companies, filed a Friend of the Court brief (Amicus) in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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