Several associations are speaking out against a petition by a "shadowy" New England group to reduce payments to homeowners for electricity generated by solar panels installed on their properties, Politico reported Tuesday.

The New England Ratepayers Association is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to essentially overrule states' "net metering" programs—which compensate homeowners for electricity generated by their solar panels—and replace them with a national program that would pay lower rates, according to the newspaper.

On its website, NERA describes itself as a nonprofit "focused on promoting sound public policy that protects utility customers, both families and businesses, and lowers the cost of regulated services." Critics have questioned the origins of the group, which doesn't disclose its members, and noted many of its battles focus on weakening renewable energy projects while propping up fossil fuels.

NERA's petition has drawn ire from multiple stakeholders, from renewable energy advocates to Republican lawmakers who see the proposal as eroding states' authority over energy regulation. Several associations have called on FERC to deny the request.

"Opposition to this petition is pervasive, and the legal and jurisdictional problems the petition would create are impossible to overlook," Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, told Politico. "It's hard to fathom why FERC would want to overturn prior decisions and wrest regulatory jurisdiction away from state policymakers."

The American Public Power Association is urging the commission to dismiss the petition without considering its merits "as it does not present an appropriate case for a declaratory ruling," said Delia Patterson, APPA's senior vice president and general counsel.

Politico noted that the Edison Electric Institute has opposed net metering policies in the past but has distanced itself from both that stance and the New England group in recent years.

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