Before I get to the substance of net metering (which is going into the next post), I should say that there's a small meta-issue here: CWLP put up its webpage on these standards sometime in early May. Clean Energy Springfield first noticed them May 11, while looking at their website for something else. The timing worked out well, because we had a regular meeting the following week. I prepared initial comments based on those standards. At our meeting, I took another look at CWLP's webpage, and found that the net metering document had been withdrawn, with a note that it was under revision, and would be released later.
The revision showed up on May 24. The hearing was held on May 30. I don't think anything is explicitly required by the Energy Policy Act in this regard, but typically public meetings that are based on review of a particular document give at least 30 days notice. (This is, I think, what CWLP did with the other standards, and intended with its original net metering document.)
Therefore, we are requesting that CWLP hold another public meeting for the net metering standard. The changes that it made to its recommendations are substantial. Clean Energy Springfield is composed of regular people (well, maybe not regular...) who fit what we do into our daily lives. I'm giving up a Saturday afternoon in my garden to write this post. The time that public agencies give for review of documents is important not just to digest what they contain, but to spread the word and organize a response. Given how little public notification there was about the meeting, we feel that it is appropriate for CWLP to hold another hearing for this standard. What's ironic about this whole thing is that the net metering standard is probably the one issue where people who aren't slavishly devoted to sustainable energy issues have something to say--plenty of people are interested in putting solar panels on their roofs, and net metering is vital to that.
Here's the thing, though: CWLP has already heard from us. We have time to adjust our comments in written form. What CWLP needs to hear is that people who didn't show up at the first meeting have something to say.
So, if this is a topic that you're interested in--if solar energy is something you've been thinking about--let CWLP know that you want the opportunity to tell them face to face.