Last week the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) in the US held the third and final public hearings concerning utility Idaho Power’s plans to cut rooftop solar compensation rates by 60% or more. Solar installers, environmental activists and rooftop project owners were among those calling on the IPUC to reject any such reforms. On the utility’s side was its own research, published last month, in which it calculated the value of “excess” renewables. The utility argues that rooftop solar owners are making unfair profits at the expense of everyone else on the grid, the same objection raised in Net Metering disputes by traditional utilities in other states such as California. Complaints about grid connection costs are equally familiar. Petitioners, some…