dbeard@dominionpost.com
MORGANTOWN – FirstEnergy sisters Mon Power and Potomac Edison have seen substantial growth in new net-metering customers during the past year – 30% and 32% respectively.
The companies jointly filed their annual net-metering reports with the Public Service Commission on Friday, covering the period of June 1, 2024 through May 31 this year.
Net-metering customers generate a portion of their own electricity, generally through solar or wind, and receive credits on their bill for any power they generate in excess of what they use.
For the current reporting period, Mon Power reported 1,167 solar “customer-generator facilities,” up from 901 the prior year. Wind power net-metering customers remained steady, at 12.
The raw number of solar customers is a mere blip on Mon Power’s total customer base of 395,000: not quite three-tenths of a percent. But the demand has steadily grown: 901 for 2023-2024; 751 in 2022-2023; and 597 for 2021-2022.
Potomac Edison reported 1,360 solar net-metering customers for the current reporting period, up from 1,030 in 2023-2024. Wind-powered net-metering customers remained steady at 14.
Potomac Edison had 891solar net-metering customers in 2022-2023 and 713 in 2021-2022.
As with Mon Power, Potomac Edison’s raw number of solar net-metering customers is a blip – just over three-tenths of a percent.
But since 2021-2023, Potomac Edison’s new solar net-metering hookups have climbed 91%, while Mon Power’s have climbed by 95%.
First Energy declined comment on the reports.
