Senate Bill 188 would have established a voluntary, subscription-style option for businesses or individual homeowners to purchase shares of a solar array. They could then be credited on their monthly bill for the electricity generated by the solar panels.
Gov. Greg Gianforte stamped the bill with a veto Friday. He said the bill was not specific enough on how it would be implemented.
The bill tasked the Public Service Commission with setting up the credit rate solar subscribers would be given on their utility bills. As justification for the veto, Gianforte claimed the credits could potentially raise rates for other energy customers.
The bill was backed by clean energy and climate groups who said it offered an affordable option for people interested in solar who may lack the ability to put up panels on their own.
NorthWestern Energy and Montana-Dakota Utilities were the only opponents in public testimony. Backers of the bill point out it was bipartisan and don’t agree with Gianforte’s reasoning.
The Montana Renewable Energy Association and Coalition for Community Solar Access also released a statement refuting Gianforte’s claims. In it, they wrote that solar developers had voluntarily offered guardrails for the program that the PSC could have easily adopted.
