Among the most politically contentious in recent years, 2013 inevitably produced its set of diminished stars and short-lived meteorites — individuals and groups that made a strong impression, all for the right or wrong reasons.

Negotiators quietly forged 11th-hour net metering compromise

As it turned out, Arizona’s battle over solar net metering wasn’t what it seemed.

A year before the Arizona Corporation Commission began formally considering reductions to rooftop solar panel incentives, Arizona voters rejected three Democratic commission candidates who billed themselves as the “solar team.”

As it reaches a climax, the months-long campaign to reduce a key incentive for residential solar has given Arizonans a glimpse into a nearly obscure but powerful body of regulators that oversees some of Arizona’s biggest industries.

In a blow to Arizona Public Service, energy regulators agreed a few minutes ago to a compromise proposal charging users of solar rooftop panels with a fixed fee of 70 cents per kilowatt.

The new charge, which will begin next year, is only a fraction of what Arizona Public Service sought – which was to reduce savings from the solar incentive by roughly half.

Arizona’s energy regulators appear to be much closer to a compromise than either wholesale approval or rejection of a proposal to reduce by half a key rooftop solar panel incentive, based on proposals they submitted to resolve the issue.

Arizona’s energy regulators hunkered down this morning in front of an overflowing hearing room as users of solar rooftop panels urged them not to stifle the growth of residential solar in the state.

After several months of intense and expensive campaigning, Arizona utility regulators today begin formal hearings on a proposal by Arizona Public Service to drastically cut incentives to install rooftop solar panels.

Former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Sandra Kennedy today called on Commissioner Gary Pierce to recuse himself from an upcoming vote on subsidies for rooftop solar panels, saying his ties to the energy company involved in the issue create a conflict of interest.

All eyes on Arizona as formal energy hearings begin

At the heart of Arizona’s battle over solar net metering systems is whether utilities can balance solar energy with the cost of maintaining the grid that delivers electricity to all users.