A revised Public Service Commission (PSC) rule taking effect today will make it easier for apartment buildings to install solar panels and other energy-saving upgrades. Clean Wisconsin and its partners and supporters have spent years calling for the PSC to update Rule 113, an antiquated provision requiring apartment buildings to install separate electric meters for each individual unit. In practice, the rule was a barrier to solar adoption, driving up costs for projects like a 70-unit affordable housing building in La Crosse that sought to install rooftop solar, energy-saving appliances and a highly efficient heating and cooling system.
“Removing this expensive requirement will help renters take full advantage of the cost-saving benefits of solar,” says Clean Wisconsin Energy and Air Manager Ciaran Gallagher, PhD. “We have unfortunately seen some great building projects in Wisconsin—hotel-to-apartment conversions and affordable housing buildings with rooftop solar—required to install individual electric meters in each unit, driving up project costs and thus rent prices. But this rule change means that won’t happen in the future.”
PSC Commissioners adopted many of the recommendations presented by Clean Wisconsin and its partners during the rulemaking process which are reflected in the final rule.
The Supreme Court’s recent Evers v. Marklein decision ensured the rule changes would take effect quickly. In that decision, the Court found that it is unconstitutional for administrative rules to be held up indefinitely by a small and unrepresentative group of legislators. The Department of Natural Resources’ Anti-Degradation Rule, which protects Wisconsin’s lakes, rivers and streams, also recently took effect in the wake of the ruling.
“These important rules not only help protect our environment, they also reflect a government that is functioning again,” says Clean Wisconsin Government Relations Director Erik Kanter. “Agencies are finally able to carry out our laws again after years of unconstitutional interference by a handful of legislators.”
