Showdown looms over changes in California rooftop solar incentives

On Wednesday, the California Public Utilities Commission will hear arguments on a plan to change the incentives offered to owners of rooftop solar systems. John Ramos reports. (11/15/22)

[johnking]

I just got my PTO from PG&E - it took one year to get my panels installed from the time I signed the contract with the solar company. I got grandfathered into NEM 2.0. I’d better get the full 20 years of NEM 2.0 because I paid $60k for a 11.6 kw system, no battery. Installation cost an extra $12 k because the house has a Spanish tile roof which is difficult to work on. They said I’d need a minimum of 2 batteries..
My house was built with a standby propane generator already, so batteries seemed less necessary.
It looks like my electric bill will be hugely reduced! It seems that weather has a huge effect on electrical production. Many foggy or rainy days can really cut you monthly electrical production.

If I had to do it over, I’d go with sunPower and I’d give the Maxeon panels a go 3:15 od look.
I went with Zenernet, big mistake. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

[victorreece]

if they take away net metering than people will cut the cord with the electric company.

[marcfontana]

The argument that solar customers are costing other utility customers more money just does not compute. It could just as well be said that if your solar home is exporting power and your neighbor is using that power, PG&E doesn't have to generate, or transmit that power, saving them money. Why shouldn't a homeowner with extra power that can reduce the demand on the grid be compensated fairly for it. The next thing you know, they penalize you for not using enough electricity if say you chose to hang your laundry on a clothesline? Who believes that if no PG&E customer sent power back to the grid, PG&E would be in better financial shape? Not Me !

[USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity]

Off grid 9 months. You too can tell the greedy, corrupt power company to kick rocks.

[heavyboeing]

State slashes rooftop solar benefits.
No more solar solicitors!

[AlessandroZane]

You don’t have to buy solar. There’s other programs. So ANYBODY that wants to save and is a homeowner can get solar

[harlowgrim]

That’s a drastic change, many people won’t go solar because that’s the whole purpose of having solar panels.

[CaliforniaMISC]

They have to maintaintaine grid anyway even without solar

[jeffhuggins]

The PUC needs to be replaced in this state with real people

[a-a-ron]

Oh no, I just bought a battery Bank, such a shame 🤣
I'll keep my power and you can keep yours ✌️

[virginiatom]

I thought the less fortunate are getting reduced rates when they apply for it, the other customers (not rich)are already paying for them.

[jonniesantos]

I’d rather have grid power and leave the maintenance of energy generation and distribution to someone else. I just need the lights to work - I don’t want to play doomsday prepper, have all that ugly hardware on my roof and possibly a battery in the garage too. Same old story, everyone wants your money no matter how little you have.

[danielcarroll]

So far this year I have put more than 3, 000 kWh above my usage into the grid, but I do use a bit at night from the grid saving having to install batteries. I have provisions to add them if needed. After all, who can foretell the future?

[simply_diecast_]

It's all about share holders how much money 🤑💰 they will make. In the meantime screw the middle class. Keep your solar panels no plans the future .

[videosuperhero]

It's just crazy that ca power is still privatized. This change occurred in the 90s... time to change it back. With solar, their objectives are at odds with the public good and global warming.

[MC-bmcy]

They all pay a fee to be able to use the grid….the maintenance fee applies to everyone. Just want to up their profits and give out more dividends to the stock holders.

[blkcoupequattro]

PG&E as well other monopolistic companies only care about their share holders, the CFO of PG&E gets 53million. Believe me if I ran PG&E I would make sure that not only my regular customers got a price point, but those that provide it also share in the offset of those that don’t or can’t afford to upgrade. There will always be demand, encouraging usage is win for sales. Our biggest issue is time of use, and existing infrastructure to provide the service, line loss. If it was me I would offer solar customers shares in PG&E. There’s creative nature here, but the same order of kick the can is being played here. Honestly the state should have absorbed PG&E when the single largest scandal on the American Public took place with Enron.

[zAlaska]

I like the great deal I get here in Alaska. It's like my meter spins backwards and everything I generate I can use freely throughout the month. At the end of the month, credits towards the next month bill and connection fee is credited at the wholesale generation rate that everybody receives, just under 9 cents a kilowatt. The retail price is $22 a kilowatt. Very large consumers pay a demand rate. The wholesale producer price is based upon the lowest priced power the utilities are able to generate, and this adds to the renewable mix bringing lower costs for all customers rather than increased costs for those without panels. Being able to run your air conditioning and charge your Tesla and get your neighbors to pay for it all has been the selling point. That's unsustainable. With our simple rates and fair rates I'm saving a lot of money in the thousands, of the solar powered electric heat pump eliminating my need for fuel oil for heat. If it's hot to air conditioner runs for free. I didn't get a tax break I paid cash all on my own, installed it myself. The electric rates offered by Edison power is like a New York City telephone directory. You can save more if you switch to this more expensive plan fills the catalog. As the Dynamics change, everything changes. As for those who have maxed out their credit in a Time of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes that did all of their math requiring the massive subsidy to those who have taken the biggest debt. After many years of the best deal possible with anyone in the planet, it's time to come back down to earth. The price of the electricity for your neighbors is supposed to go down not up as solar panels are installed. As the bids go out for who can build the largest solar park at the cheapest wholesale rate, if the price isn't right why would the utility buy it at all, allowing you to keep all the electricity that you generate. My $10, 000 investment is saving me $3, 000 a year as I invested in other things after that investment. The money that I'm not spending is the real return on my investment. They need a much more simplified electric rate system. How to get one solar panel on every meter so as not to throw off the grid while supplementing microgrid demands. How do you get the electric rates to come down paying a premium price for power that should be the cheapest? The initial offers and calculations now make solar an unattractive burden on the bottom line to progress overall. For those who gambled fool credit a mini Twitter purchase within their own life. The toast is to you, of those from Lehman Brothers. Welcome to the club! Is there an Enron on your roof? I paid cash panels are only 300 bucks a piece and inverters only $150 to get started. No interest payments, no extra credits or income, but the full retail rate, the return on your investment is the maximum you can receive making the rate of return on simply one panel guaranteed to be the best investment you can make on your inflationary money as prices go up and will never be lower than they are right now, if you have cash and do not use credit. Skip steak for 2 years being able to afford it as your returns come in via the savings on your bill. That panel that sits in the south facing window plugs into the wall after the utilities been notified so they put the correct meter in, for free. If you don't have the right meter, every watt you sell you'll pay for increasing your electric bill instead of reducing it, what part you don't consume as its produced. That's my view from 60 miles north of Anchorage Alaska. A state regulated utility, every utility a member owned nonprofit co-op that returns the dividends to its shareholders, the customer's.

[lucystrider]

What about all those electric cars in a few years? Need alternate energy increased and encouraged. Subsidize low income solar, don't destroy incentives.

[ryanbarker]

oh, good grief, the old 'if everyone can't have it, then no one should' argument. i guess the utility company doesn't go along with the whole supply and demand theory. here's a truism no one ever mentions -- it costs a lot of money to be poor.