TEP GoSolar Shares

Participating TEP customers can purchase 150 kilowatt hour (kWh) "shares" of solar energy produced by TEP’s community-scale photovoltaic arrays. Each share will offset an equivalent amount of traditional power, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of more clean, green renewable energy for an affordable price. This program was formerly named Bright Tucson Community Solar.

Each share will replace the charges for an equivalent amount of traditional power at a cost that adds $1.50 apiece to your monthly bills. Because solar power from our community-scale systems has become more cost-effective, TEP recently reduced the cost of participating in TEP GoSolar Shares by half, to about 1 cent per kWh.

The power supply component of your bill covered by solar shares will remain fixed for 20 years under rules approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). While shares purchased through TEP GoSolar Shares remain subject to non-fuel rate changes, they won't be affected by changes to the base energy rate or the PPFAC or REST surcharges. Customers can cancel their participation in the program at any time.

You can purchase enough shares to meet some or potentially all of your electric needs with solar energy. If you use less energy than you’ve agreed to purchase during a given billing period, the excess is carried over and used to offset the traditional energy charges on your future bills. Participation may be limited by the availability of energy from our solar power systems.

TEP GoSolar Shares lets you decide how much of your energy should come from TEP’s solar resources. The number of 150-kWh shares you can buy is limited only by your average annual energy use and the size of our expanding portfolio of community solar arrays.

To see how many shares you’d need to cover most or all of your electric needs, just divide your average monthly usage by 150 and round down to the nearest whole number. For example, a typical residential customer who uses 825 kWh per month could purchase up to 5 shares each month (825/150=5.5, or 5 shares). The table below shows some other examples for typical residential customers.

The energy is generated by TEP’s community-scale solar power systems. As TEP expands its solar generating capacity, new resources will become available to satisfy growing demand for the TEP GoSolar Shares program.

The program is not designed to immediately reduce customers' electric bills. Rather, it offers an easy, affordable way to meet your electric needs with more clean, renewable energy. The additional money you’ll spend for solar energy shares will be invested in new renewable energy systems, so your participation will help reduce our community’s reliance on fossil fuels. Also, the power supply component of your bill covered by solar shares will remain fixed for 20 years under ACC-approved program rules. So, participants may realize future savings if the cost of traditional energy resources increases.

The program offers an easy, flexible way for anyone to go solar. The up-front cost of installing a PV array at your home or business can be quite expensive. A standalone system may not be an option for many customers, including renters, limited-income residents or those whose rooftops are shaded by trees or nearby buildings. TEP GoSolar Shares offers an easy, affordable way to go green while supporting the expansion of TEP’s renewable energy resources.

The program is available to TEP customers on the following pricing plans:

• Basic (Residential Service)
• Small General Service Basic
• Medium General Service
• Large General Service

You can sign up online or by calling Customer Care at 520-623-7711. TEP is in the process of updating the program’s name in My Account to GoSolar Shares. You may see it referred to in My Account as Bright Tucson Community Solar.

TEP GoSolar Shares allows you to purchase as much solar energy as you want – a little or a lot – with no long-term commitment. It’s available to anyone on qualifying pricing plans, including customers who are not eligible for other solar options. The program costs offset the traditional energy charges on your monthly bill, and your participation helps reduce our community’s reliance on fossil-fueled power.

Unused “shares” of solar energy will be carried forward as an energy credit to future bills. Any credits that remain unused after September will be returned as a bill credit on customers’ October bills.

TEP presumes that participating customers are interested in using solar energy to meet their electric needs year-round. Allowing excess credits to accumulate throughout the year serves that purpose by accommodating the increased usage that typically occurs during Tucson's hot summer months.

Customers who wish to satisfy their entire annual electric needs with solar power would need to subscribe to a number of shares that exceeds their actual usage throughout much of the year but falls short of their summer consumption levels. These customers would accumulate monthly energy credits in most months but retire those credits during the summer. Even customers seeking to satisfy only a portion of their usage through the program may find themselves in similar circumstances.

Any energy credits that remain after September, though, are not likely to be needed until the following summer, if at all. That's why TEP converts any remaining energy credits at that time into a payment that is applied as a credit against customers' October bills. Customers who cancel their participation in the program also will receive a credit on their next bill for any excess energy credits remaining at that time.

No. Shares of solar energy purchased through the program are associated with a specific service address and cannot be transferred. If program shares are still available, though, you can subscribe for the program again at your new address at the current solar energy rate.