It should come as no surprise that the power companies have undue power in Arkansas. They want a poison-spewing coal-fired plant, they get ‘it. Extraordinary rates? We got ’em. Little pressure to adopt energy-wise polices? Of course.

The subject today (thanks, Pat) is net metering. It’s complicated, but the simple explanation is that some states have made it easier for homes and businesses to generate electricity and to get credit from power companies to put their excess capacity into the grid. In time, this reduces the need for new, expensive power plants.

Advertisement

Here’s a snippet from a blog item on a Stateline.org report on states’ progress in encouraging net metering. Arkansas sucks.

The NNEC report awarded states a letter grade, “A” through “F,” on the effectiveness of their programs. Indiana and Arkansas have the worst net-metering practices, the report said, attributing it to power companies wresting too much control over the net-metering legislation in both states. Indiana’s law sets a low cap on how much electricity individual customers may produce, and Arkansas’ law creates severe financial disincentives for people to participate. Both states got an “F,” as did Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.

Advertisement

A little thing, in the scheme of things, but little things add up. The longer stateline report is here. Also, Warwick Sabin wrote about this very topic for us in early 2007, when the state had an opportunity to do something about an earlier “F” grade. You know what happened.

Be a part of something bigger

As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know we’re dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond – with your support, we can do even more. By becoming a subscriber or donating as little as $1 to our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage and continue to bring important stories to light. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, it's clear that our readers value our great journalism. Join us in the fight for truth.

Previous article Mike Huckabee: I’d accept Next article Common sense: A Thomas Paine Day