Will PPL’s Net-Metering Customers Lose Ownership of their Alternative Energy Credits?
October 24, 2025
PPL is proposing — as part of its recent request to increase electric distribution rates — the automatic and mandatory transfer of all Alternative Energy Credits (AECs) from all net metering customer-generators to PPL.
If adopted by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), PPL’s tariff will state that:
“A Customer enrolled in net metering under this [Net Metering] Rider will be metered under the following terms and conditions …
[PPL] shall take title to the alternative energy credits (AECs) produced by a customer-generator.”
PPL proposed Electric Tariff at 21.
It looks like PPL will “take” those AECs without any compensation to the customer-generator, since the tariff is silent on payment to net metering customer-generators. AECs are a commodity under Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) Act, 73 P.S. § 1648.1, et. seq. The AECs have value. For example, the PUC reported that the weighted average price for solar AECs was $37.03 per credit in 2024. PUC AEPS Compliance for Reporting Year 2023-2024 at 14. One AEC is created for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity generated from a qualified alternative energy source.
PPL’s proposed tariff language is a fundamental change. Under the AEPS Act, customer-generators own their AECs, which they may sell.
“Unless a contractual provision explicitly assigns alternative energy credits in a different manner, the owner of the alternative energy system or a customer-generator owns any and all alternative energy credits associated with or created by the production of electric energy by such facility or customer, and the owner or customer shall be entitled to sell, transfer or take any other action to which a legal owner of property is entitled to take with respect to the credits.”
73 P.S. § 1648.3(e)(12). That point is repeated in the Commission’s regulations. 52 Pa. Code § 75.13(i). Under PPL’s existing tariff, PPL only automatically acquires title to AECs only when “the customer-generator has expressly rejected title to the credits” and after PPL has “fully [informed] the customer-generator of the potential value of those credits and options available to the customer-generator for their disposition.” PPL Electric Tariff at Page No. 19L.3.
It will be interesting to see how PPL defends its decision to take all of the AECs from all of the customer-generators.
You can find PPL’s base case filing on puc.pa.gov at Docket No. R-2025-3057164.
This Energy Blog Post is intended to keep readers current on developments in the law. It is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions, please contact Robert DeSousa at 717.237.6064 or rdesousa@eckertseamans.com, Dan Clearfield at 717.439.5231 or dclearfield@eckertseamans.com, Rick Hicks at 717.237.6081 or rhicks@eckertseamans.com, Bryce Beard at 717.237.6041 or bbeard@eckertseamans.com, Carl Shultz at 717.255.3742 or cshultz@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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