Since 1978, a federal law by the name of PURPA (Public Utilities Policy Regulation Act) has required all publicly owned electric utilities to buy power produced by its customers. However, PURPA only requires the utilities to pay the "wholesale avoided cost," or in plain terms, the rate that they pay to other utilities when they buy power. Not surprisingly, this rate is far lower than the retail rate that normal customers (you and 1) are asked to pay. In some cases, they pay only about 25% of what they charge their customers.

Recently, many states have enacted "Net Metering Laws." This means that they are required to offset the customer's bill at the full retail rate for power fed back to the utility. While all state programs accept solar power, many also accept wind and other renewables. The following is a list of states that currently have net metering laws: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii (pending), Idaho, Indiana, lowa, Illinois (pending), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska (pending), Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon (pending), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont (pending), Washington, and Wisconsin. Give us a call for more detailed information concerning your state, or for an informative case study on one of our recent net metering installations.

Utility Rebates and Tax Credits now Available- Effective this year, California customers of PG&E, SDG&E, and SoCal Edison qualify for a rebate of up to $3/ watt on PV arrays and wind generators. $54 million has been budgeted for the next five years. The purpose of this program is to provide financial incentives for utility customers who produce renewable forms of electricity. Systems must use PV modules, wind generators and inverters approved by the California Energy Commission (most of the equipment that we sell is on the list) for use on this program. For more information, call 800-555-7794.

Colorado has recently enacted a similar program. Rebates are capped at $2500 for PV and $1000 for solar hot water systems. The program will expire on June 15, 1999, or when the funds run out, whichever comes first. For more information, call X0()-633-9764.

Recently New York has passed an income tax credit of 25% of the cost of equipment and installation of residential PV systems not to exceed $1.50 per watt of rated PV capacity. For more information, call William Valentino at 518- 862 1090.