Using solar? Fine, but you have to pay us either way

Xcel Energy in Denver, Texas, doesn’t care if you decide to go solar because they plan on charging you anyway claiming that it’s not fair that customers with solar panels on their homes could possibly get a free ride. The monthly fee would go into effect in April 2010 and would be used to pay for distribution and transmission of energy regardless of whether or not the customer used any electricity that month.

Xcel Energy spokesman, Tom Henley, that implementing the fee would level the playing field for all electricity users.

“We just don’t think it’s fair that customers that don’t have solar panels on their homes should subsidize these solar panel customers any further,” said Henley.

[….]

Henley said the fee is a preventative measure to ensure that, down the road, solar customers do not get free rides.

“What we’re looking to do is stop that, avoid that occurrence from happening,” he said.

Source: The Denver Channel :: Solar Customers Fuming Over Proposed Fee