Court Orders Electricity Authority to Rule on Solar System Billing Dispute
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
The Haifa District Court has asked the Electricity Authority to weigh in on a dispute over how the Israel Electric Corporation calculates charges for solar system owners. A class-action lawsuit alleges the IEC inflates charges by basing calculations on inverter capacity rather than panel capacity. The court has not yet ruled on the case, but the Electricity Authority has 45 days to submit its opinion, with potential financial implications for many solar system owners.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Haifa District Court ordered Electricity Authority to rule on solar system billing dispute.
- Class-action lawsuit alleges Israel Electric Corporation inflates charges for solar system owners.
- Dispute centers on calculating charges based on inverter capacity versus panel capacity.
- Electricity Authority has 45 days to submit its reasoned opinion to the court.
- Resolution could lead to significant financial refunds for solar system owners if plaintiff prevails.
The Haifa District Court has ordered the Electricity Authority to provide a reasoned opinion on a dispute concerning the calculation of system charges for owners of solar energy systems. The decision came as part of a request to certify a class-action lawsuit against the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), which alleges that the company's calculation method leads to overestimation of self-consumption and excess charges.
The core of the dispute revolves around how to calculate electricity generated by a solar system and consumed directly at the home when no production meter is installed. In such systems, where some electricity is consumed on-site and the remainder is fed into the grid, the IEC uses a normative production estimate. The amount of electricity actually fed into the grid is subtracted from this estimate, and the difference is attributed to self-consumption, which is then subject to system charges.
The plaintiff claims the IEC calculates the estimated production based on the inverter's capacity, not the installed capacity of the solar panels. When the inverter's capacity exceeds that of the panels, this method can inflate the calculated production and, consequently, the attributed self-consumption, leading to charges for electricity the system could not have produced. The plaintiff argues this interpretation contradicts regulatory instructions designed to estimate production capacity without direct measurement.
The IEC rejects these claims, asserting its calculation method complies with regulatory standards. The company argues that the relevant term 'installed capacity' should be interpreted according to its regulatory definitions, not necessarily the panel capacity. In the case at hand, the inverter capacity is 15 kW, compared to panel capacity of approximately 8.9 kW, highlighting the potential financial implications. The IEC also pointed to the option of installing a production meter for direct measurement.
The court, with the agreement of the parties, has given the Electricity Authority 45 days to submit its position. The court has not yet ruled on whether the IEC's calculation method violates the law, determined if overpayments were collected, or certified the lawsuit as a class action. However, the resolution of this dispute could have significant financial implications for other solar system owners if the plaintiff's position is upheld, potentially requiring the IEC to refund past overcharges.