Dominion Energy has been accused to trying to increase its profits from its solar customers.

It wants state regulators to let it charge higher solar fees because Dominion says other customers pay more to subsidize them.

But critics say higher revenues will be retained by Dominion, not paid to the nonsolar customers.

Ashley Cunningham of Dominion denies this.

She said her company aims to treat all customers fairly. That means the 99% who do not choose solar and the 1% who do.

Dominion’s net metering is a special billing agreement that allows credit to customers for excess electricity they send to the utility’s grid, she said.

About 11,000 Dominion solar customers in South Carolina send excess energy back to the grid.

She said this means:

• 740,000 non-solar customers have to pay for maintaining power lines, generation stations and all other associated costs.

• They also pay for the more cost-efficient energy their utility produces.

“We can’t forget about so many who are struggling financially,” she said.

“We heard them during our regulatory rate review, and we paused that process.

“These are the same customers we’re trying to protect from unfair subsidization. We recognize that certain intervenors would prefer that solar subsidies continue in full, but the law does not allow for that.

“Rather it requires the commission to establish solar choice metering requirements that fairly allocate cost and benefits to eliminate any cost shift or subsidization associated with net metering to the greatest extent practicable.”