Ariz. Utility Increased Solar Rates by 65%, Class Action Claims

A recent antitrust class action claims that an Arizona utility company upcharges their customers who use solar power to provide electricity.

According to the class action lawsuit, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (SRP) violate federal and state antitrust laws by charging their customers more if they use solar panels to supplement the electricity provided by the company.

Customers aimed to save money by investing in solar power for their homes, but were allegedly forced to pay more for their choices.

“Public policy and logic dictates that Arizona homeowners making the choice to invest in solar energy systems […] should be rewarded through lower, or at least equal electricity rates as homeowners without solar, not penalized through discriminatory higher rates,” the solar power class action claims.

The price increase reportedly began in 2014 when SRP started to charge an extra $600 in yearly fees to customers who used solar power.

These additional charges allegedly represented a 65 percent increase to the customers’ bills which was miles above the 3.9 percent increase other customers saw in their electricity rates.

The solar power customers claim in their class action that SRP was aiming to suppress the competition from solar energy.

“SRP’s effort to stifle and eliminate all competition from the growing solar energy market is clear by its implementation of the discriminatory E­27 price plan,” the Arizona solar energy class action lawsuit claims. “Customers recognize that SRP’s pricing plan is discriminatory and strips the economic value in investing in solar energy systems to self­-generate electricity.”

Unfortunately, SRP’s alleged scheme was effective. The solar panel customers claim that solar energy in the affected areas decreased by 90 percent following the discriminatory pricing plan.

Due to the company’s policy, some SRP customers were grandfathered into their previous plans and not affected by the solar panel pricing changes.

The company reportedly allows customers to be grandfathered into their previous plan for up to 20 years, meaning that these homeowners are saving around $600 per year that other solar customers are forced to pay.

“By exempting certain solar customers from the E-27 price plan, SRP discriminates against other solar customers since they are charged higher rates and fees for the exact same electricity and impact on the grid,” the solar customers argue. “Under the E-27 price plan, SRP also discriminates against solar customers, compared to non-solar customers, since they are charged higher rates and fees for the same electricity.”

The solar customers seek to represent a Class of customers in SRP’s service territory, which includes most of the Phoenix area, who have been charged for electricity under the E-27 Customer Generation Price Plan.

The Arizona utility class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, actual damages, treble damages, injunctive relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Hart L. Robinovitch, Alia M. Abdi and David M. Cialkowski of Zimmerman Reed LLP and Daniel E. Gustafson, Daniel C. Hedlund and Daniel J. Nordin of Gustafson Gluek PLLC.

The Arizona Utility Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is Ellis, et al. v. Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, Case No. 2:19-­cv­-01228, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

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