Hillsboro council considering new ‘net metering policy’ for city

The Hillsboro City Coun­cil was introduced at its Oct. 18 meeting to a new “net metering policy” the city may need before residents add solar panels to generate electrical energy at properties that are hooked into the city’s electric grid.

City Administrator Larry Paine said the issue surfaced when the city’s electric supervisor received a call from a solar-panel company asking what the city’s policies were in regard to solar installation.

Paine said net metering raises two issues of potential concern: “First is the safety aspect of how the system attaches to the distribution system; the second is how we deal with the pricing of solar use.”

After consulting with Kan­sas Municipal Utilities, Paine received a policy that Garden City has adopted and that Paine has adapted for Hillsboro.

Following a review of the policy during the Oct. 18 meeting, Paine said he plans to present it for approval at the Nov. 8 meeting.

“Once the policy is approved, it will give the (city) building inspector and the crew the guidelines to govern the installation of photo voltaic solar systems,” he said.

The council normally meets the first and third Tuesday of each month. Paine said because of schedules for a couple of council members, meeting dates will change next month to Nov. 8 and Nov. 22, the second and fourth Tuesdays.

Because November has five Tuesdays, the council will be back on schedule for a Dec. 6 meeting.

Prior to adjourning, the council met in executive session to discuss non-elected personnel.

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