CPUC petition: Stand by California’s solar customers!

It’s a new year! Time for fresh starts and welcome changes, but one thing that should NOT change is fair credit for California’s solar customers.

California’s PUC is beginning the process of implementing AB 327, the utility and rate reform bill that puts the Commission in charge of some major decisions related to the future of rooftop solar in the Golden State.  In March, the Commission will make a final decision about how long solar customers can expect to receive the important bill saving benefits of California’s current popular net metering program.

We say: solar produces reliable power for 30 years or more, and solar customers should expect stable rules and predictable credit on their power bills to match. But big utilities are up to their old tricks, lobbying at the Commission to change the rules on Californians who go solar. Some utilities are arguing that existing solar customers should get full retail credit on their power bills for as little as five years! What kind of message would that send to all those families, schools and businesses who invested their own time and money to turn their roofs into clean power sources for all of us – and to others who are thinking about going solar now?

Changing the rules on solar customers mid-stream would drastically slow our California’s solar momentum – not to mention, it’s downright unfair! We can’t let the utilities rewrite the rules for solar customers to protect their outdated business model.