Centralia Moves to Align Solar Power Credits With Increased Capacity

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The number of solar power installations in Centralia has nearly tripled since 2015, and the city is moving to adjust its bill credit cap to meet the increased production.

The policy is known as net metering, a system where solar users are credited for the power they feed into the city’s power grid. 

The original ordinance establishing the system limited payouts to the first 293 kilowatts of power produced, a policy designed to phase the program in gradually.

“We just thought it needed to be rolled out a little at a time,” said M.L. Norton, the general manager of Centralia City Light.

The phase-in has sped up rapidly in recent years. In 2015, city residents and businesses combined for 11 solar arrays and 58 kilowatts of capacity. Currently, those numbers stand at 31 installations and 269 kilowatts. The latter number is close to the present cap, meaning solar users who come online after that threshold is reached won’t be eligible for net metering.



“It doesn’t leave us a lot of room,” Norton said.

City councilors voted unanimously on first reading Tuesday to up the limit to 500 kilowatts, allowing the incentive to continue for solar users who continue to come on board. Another change will move the upper threshold of incentive payments from $100,000 to $314,000. Last year, Centralia customers who generated renewable energy received more than $28,000 in payments. 

The largest producer on the system, Norton said, is Centralia College, which sent a letter to the council supporting the increased cap.