Colorado Springs Utilities' 11,000 rooftop solar customers shifted $4.3 million in costs to their non-solar neighbors in 2025, according to an analysis by the Brattle Group commissioned by the utility. The shift amounts to roughly $393 per solar customer annually, or about $21 per non-solar customer each year. The consultant projects the subsidy will climb to $5 million in 2026 and $8 million by 2030 as more households install panels and electricity rates rise.
The cost shift happens because solar owners buy fewer kilowatt-hours from the grid but still rely on utility infrastructure during nights and cloudy days, according to the report. Because electricity rates bundle in the fixed costs of poles, wires, substations, and power plants, solar customers dodge their portion of those expenses by purchasing less power. At the same time, state law requires Colorado Springs Utilities to credit excess solar generation at the full retail rate—about three times what that midday power is actually worth to the utility in saved fuel costs. The utility's chief financial officer, Tristen Gearhart, told Colorado Public Radio that solar customers typically use 30% more electricity than non-solar households, likely because they're trying to maximize the value of their credits. Rooftop solar owners also tend to be wealthier: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found the median 2023 income of solar adopters nationwide hit $115,000, compared to $94,000 for homeowners and $75,000 for all households. In Colorado, 49% of solar adopters earned at least 120% of their area's median income in 2023; in El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, that figure reached 52%.
The report explains that solar customers "are not entirely self-sufficient" because their panels don't produce power at night or during overcast weather, yet they avoid paying "their share of those fixed costs that those rates were designed to recover." Meanwhile, the utility "must continue to maintain grid reliability and provide energy for when those customer-generated resources are unavailable." The problem is compounded by Colorado's net metering law, established in 2005 and expanded in 2018 and 2021, which mandates that utilities compensate excess generation at the full retail rate. Because state law ties the utility's hands on crediting solar power, Colorado Springs Utilities is trying to rebalance other charges so solar owners pay for the infrastructure they use.
Colorado Springs Utilities has proposed two billing options, both estimated to add roughly $38 per month to solar customers' bills at 2027 rates, according to the analysis. The first option introduces a $1 daily grid access charge, switches solar customers to time-of-day pricing, and ends indefinite credit rollovers—meaning cheap midday power exported to the grid no longer cancels out expensive peak-hour electricity drawn back. The second keeps one-to-one retail credits and monthly rollovers but adds a demand charge based on a customer's single highest 15-minute burst of grid use. Current customers won't see changes until 2032 if they're established before April 1, 2027. The utility's city council advanced the proposal 6-2 and will vote on final adoption September 22, with the utility working to include both solar and non-solar customers in the conversation. For non-solar households—including renters, apartment dwellers, and lower-income families who can't install panels—the change means an end to subsidizing wealthier neighbors' energy bills.