STATE — A new proposal has fired up owners of rooftop solar and the solar industry to level the playing field.
Assembly Bill 942 from Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier) would rewrite the Net Energy Metering programs, end “godfathering” for NEM 1.0 and 2.0 customers, and eliminate solar credit exports to help lower the cost burden on non-solar customers. The bill has sparked fury from rooftop solar customers and the solar industry. The Solar Rights Alliance organized a protest at Calderon’s office in the City of Industry on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times, with dozens of residents and the California Solar & Storage Association also in attendance.
Many have ripped Calderon’s bill for being utility-friendly, noting she was the former government affairs manager for Southern California Edison, managed the company’s political action committee, and worked there for 25 years, per her LinkedIn profile.
However, supporters of the bill, along with Calderon, say the bill also addresses the $8.4 billion cost shift, delivers a fairer system to all ratepayers and will help reduce rates. As for the cost shift, the money “shifts” from utility to solar companies for their monthly payments, which negatively impacts various utility operations such as wildfire prevention, low-income programs, energy efficiency initiatives, and subsidizes NEM customers and more.
“From an equity standpoint, that’s not fair,” Calderon told The Times. “I would love for everyone to have solar, but we need to do it fairly and equitably.”
The bill would also limit credits from 20 years to 10 years. Many customers and groups like the Sierra Club are furious as the state has said those contracts would be honored for 20 years.
Calderon said 97% of residents in her district are paying higher electricity bills because of the solar credits due to the credits going to the other 3% who send unused electricity to the grid.
North County Pipeline left a request for comment with Calderon’s office, but neither she nor her office responded by the deadline…….
