Austin resident urges commission to commission solar business cases and back net metering

Alan Bridal, an Austin resident, told the Resource Management Commission he wants the city to take two concrete steps to support residential solar: create objective, local business cases and advocate for net metering.

"I'd like to ask the commission create a set of business cases, which would objectively and factually show the case for residential solar," Bridal said. He said such studies would give local residents an "anchor" against conflicting online information. He also urged the commission to "strongly advocate for net metering," calling it "the swiftest, easiest, and best financial move" to strengthen the consumer case for rooftop systems.

Bridal acknowledged criticshad raised concerns about equity in net-metering compensation and potential upward pressure on rates. "Net metering can't be equitable," he said in response to a comment attributed to Tim Harvey, explaining that inequities in the underlying billing tiers make perfect parity difficult. At the same time, Bridal argued net metering would make expanding residential solar more financially attractive: "If you tell somebody who already has existing solar panels that you're going to net metering, they're going to want to grow."

The commission did not take immediate action on Bridal's requests during the public-comment period. Bridal said he was available to answer further questions and to work with the commission going forward.