September 25, 2020
As National Grid will be the first utility to implement consolidated billing and has devised New York's blueprint for CDG consolidated billing, the rest of the EDCs (electric distribution companies) are set to follow suit sooner rather than later. As YSG and other developers deploy community solar projects across New York state, consolidated billing will help reduce subscription management costs, setting a fixed cost that will not exceed 1% compared to others in the marketplace that may have substantial management costs for billing and servicing subscribers.
The real value in consolidated billing is easing up the process for consumers. Instead of a residential retail ratepayer receiving a bill from their utility such as ConEd and another bill from their community solar sponsor such as YSG, the subscriber can see all expenses and savings on one simple bill.
Improving transparency is key, especially as the community solar market in New York State is in year 5 now. Crazy how it's been 5 years already since the PSC approved the first order for community distributed generation. It's certainly been a long road with lots of lessons learned for all of the stakeholders involved.
The introduction of consolidated billing will have a number of positive benefits for community distributed generation (CDG). Consolidated billing will lower consumer costs, improve customer experience, and reduce sponsor costs. It is also expected to reduce market barriers which have previously restricted the development of CDG. Easier enrollment and development processes will attract clean energy developers to New York CDG projects.
With customers already drawn to CDG as a means of going solar without installing panels, consolidated billing will make community solar an even more attractive process by simplifying and streamlining the subscription process. Community solar subscribers will be able to save on their utility bill each month without the hassle of receiving two separate bills—one from the utility company and one from the solar developer/sponsor.
Prior to consolidated billing being implemented, renewable energy credits appear on utility bills, but customers also receive a separate bill detailing subscription charges each month. Under consolidated billing, subscription charges are automatically deducted from the renewable energy credits. This deduction is based on a percentage set by the CDG sponsor, which must be below 95%, guaranteeing customers monthly savings of at least 5% under consolidated billing CDG.
The implementation of consolidated billing will help to accelerate the pursuit of the state’s goal of 6 GW of distributed solar. The streamlining of the process arising from consolidated billing will make customer acquisition easier and increase enrollment across the board, particularly with low-income subscribers. The guaranteed payment stream could also help to reduce project financing costs.
A number of municipalities have expressed their support for consolidated billing CDG, and it could lead to an increase in the adoption of community solar and local renewable energy production throughout the state of New York. Community choice aggregation (CCA) allows participating local governments to procure distributed energy resources for local residents. This aggregation process allows local governments to maximize the benefits of CDG for their communities, and CCA customers are able to opt out of the program while still maintaining service from their existing utility.
Do you want to go solar without installing panels at your property? Get in touch with YSG Solar today. YSG will identify the ideal community solar project for your needs and guide you through the entire subscription process to ensure maximum savings. Send us an email or call at 212.389.9215 to learn more, and find out if your land is suitable.
YSG Solar is a project development vehicle responsible for commoditizing energy infrastructure projects. We work with long-term owners and operators to provide clean energy assets with stable, predictable cash flows. YSG's market focus is distributed generation and utility-scale projects located within North America.
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