The 3-2 vote by the state’s Utilities Commission is seen as a victory for the solar industry.
The cost of solar power in California is going up, but not as much as the state’s investor-owned utilities wanted.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-2 on Jan. 28 to extend rules allowing rooftop solar customers to sell excess energy back to utilities. However, as part of the state’s net metering program they also must pay a one-time fee of as much as $150 to connect to the grid and also must now pay time-based utility rates, which ups the price for power during peak usage hours.to
The vote was considered a win for the solar industry and was cheered not only by environmentalists but by business owners, farmers and others who have solar panels on their roofs. California leads the nation on solar installations.
Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, called the program’s approval a “historic moment’’ for rooftop solar.
The decision requires Pacific Gas & Electric Co., San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison to continue paying rooftop solar customers for energy they add to the grid at full retail rates. The utilities had proposed a lower payment and higher fees, saying customers who can’t afford to install panels on their homes shouldn’t have to subsidize solar for customers who can.
You Might Also Enjoy: Plummeting Oil Prices Add Up to Big Win for Renewables
The two no-vote commissioners said they opposed a last-minute elimination of transmission charges for net metering customers, fearing non-solar customers would end up paying more.
As more states expand renewable energy, much discussion has focused on how to ensure that solar customers pay an appropriate portion of costs to maintain and operate transmission grids. In Nevada, utility regulators have scaled back rooftop solar benefits, prompting many solar companies to leave the state.
But Michael Picker, chairman of the California Public Utilities Commissions, said that the decision was about giving California consumers more choice about energy and climate change issues.
The new net metering program takes effect for new customers on July 1, 2017, or after the utilities reach certain participation caps, whichever happens first. Existing solar owners are exempt for 20 years from when they installed solar and connected to the grid.
Solar backers applauded the program as way to help both consumers generate their own clean electricity and the state to build a smarter energy grid.
Please Leave A Comment
Related posts:
$20 Million for Higher Education Research on Solar Facilities in Nevada
Amazon Prime Adds Photo Storage, Extends Free Shipping to Additional Retailers
California Begins Construction on the Country’s First Bullet Train
October Hiring Surge: U.S. Economy Adds 271,000 Jobs, Unemployment at 5%
California’s Fair Pay Act Aims to Narrow the Gender Wage Gap