Thinking about Solar?

Plenty of people are considering solar energy for their homes or businesses. If you're one of them, please review the following information, which includes details about proposed rate changes that may affect your decision. We want to make sure you have all the information you need as you evaluate alternatives for expanding your use of solar energy.

Compensation for Excess Energy

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) established the Resource Comparison Proxy (RCP) in September 2018 to compensate residential and small commercial customers for excess power produced by private rooftop solar systems.

The RCP is based on average market costs over a recent five-year period. The rate is usually adjusted annually, but customers are compensated for up to 10 years at the RCP export rate in place at the time they requested interconnection of a new solar power system. Because solar energy prices have fallen over time, this rule has allowed customers to preserve higher export rate benefits.

Rules approved by the ACC call for annual updates to the export rate to reflect market prices for solar power. However, the RCP will not be allowed to fall more than 10 percent annually.

An energy export rate of $0.0932 per kWh will remain in effect from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.

From Oct. 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023, the RCP rate is $0.0839 per kWh.

Click here to view the current RCP rate in our Statement of Charges.

For solar customers, the RCP appears under the heading “Excess Generation Credit” in the Power Supply Charges section. Meanwhile, the cost TEP incurs to pay the RCP is passed along to customers along with other energy expenses included in the Purchased Power and Fuel Adjustment Charge (PPFAC).

Anything Else I Should Consider?

We hope this information has been helpful. UniSource is committed to providing customers with the best available information about solar power and other energy options. For additional information about solar energy for your home, click here. For more details about solar energy for your business, click here.

Nobody knows for sure what electric service will cost in the future. But anyone considering a long-term investment in a solar power system should closely examine any assumptions about future increases against UniSource’s long history of stable electric rates.

Arizona's Residential Utility Consumer Office, which represents the interests of residential customers in utility matters before the ACC, also has published a Rooftop Solar Consumer Guide with sound advice for solar energy shoppers.