Now Big Power Companies Want a Piece of the Sun

It appears to me that now energy utilities want a piece of the sun. Shouldn't the sun (the moon and stars) be out of their reach? I kept my old solar charged cell phone almost forever (it was ancient according to the sales people at the cell phone place) but I loved that I was able to keep it charged for free. It is true that I finally caved and now have the latest cell phone technology and I now view my old solar phone like a bad relationship that I’ll never go back to, but I am still a big proponent of solar energy. That hasn't changed for me and money is still at the heart of solar energy growth. And even Wall Street continues to like solar. If you are using solar energy you still pay the power company to use their grid, even if they buy back your excess power. You also have to pay for your panels, their installation, and maintenance. The price of this is going down but still remains a hefty investment. If the power companies have their way and increase what solar users pay it will take longer for your investment in solar to see fruition.

"The success of solar power is forcing utilities to rethink their business model and push for the changes," said Franc Del Fosse, an energy industry lawyer and partner at Snell & Wilmer. "If you have individuals putting solar panels on the roof, it's easy to suggest that a utility is making less money."

The utilities companies’ efforts to garner higher fees on solar panel users could backfire because when the fees become too high more companies and individuals will go to the independent energy producers. Maybe it is too late for the big utility companies to restructure their business models.