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Home-based businesses will be treated no differently than residential customers by the City of Penticton’s electrical utility department, council decided Tuesday.

Council voted to collapse the two rate categories together following a presentation from electrical utility manager Shawn Filice.

“After listening to community feedback, I can’t justify from a technical perspective why home-based businesses should be billed any different when compared to residential services,” he said.

Filice said there should be no material/financial impact to eliminating the current, higher, home-based business rate class that has been in place since 1985.

Council also resolved to maintain its net metering program as status quo.

About 20 properties in Penticton currently generate some of their own power through solar panels. One customer generated enough power last year to sell excess electricity back to the grid.

Members of the city’s Development Services Advisory Committee argued the city should be covering the $2,000 cost to hookup to the net metering program, an idea that fell flat.

“If I choose to put in solar, it would be for me, and I should be the one bearing that cost,” Coun. Campbell Watt said.

Council also directed its utility department to continue buying excess power at wholesale rates, not retail rates as requested by the committee.