“Today the Assembly sided with utility special interests and their profit motives by breaking a contractual promise with millions of California solar users.”
CALIFORNIA—CALSSA executive director Brad Heavner released the statement below on the California Assembly’s passage of Assembly Bill 942 (Calderon), which would retroactively break net metering agreements with solar users when they sell or transfer their home.
Today the Assembly sided with utility special interests and their profit motives by breaking a contractual promise with millions of California solar users.
AB 942, authored by a former utility executive, would retroactively break contracts that were backed by the state and relied upon by families and businesses investing in clean energy. The 20-year net metering terms, which every solar user signs, are attached to the solar system—not the property owner. Undermining these agreements when a home is sold or transferred strips away the value of solar investments for middle- and working-class Californians, while setting a dangerous precedent that California’s clean energy commitments cannot be trusted.
Despite claims that AB 942 will lower energy rates, the real driver of California’s soaring electricity costs is unchecked utility spending on transmission infrastructure—not solar customers. Utilities are incentivized to keep spending even when they do not need to because they are guaranteed a lucrative profit margin for every dollar they spend on grid infrastructure projects. By contrast, recent research shows that solar users saved all ratepayers $1.5 billion in 2024 alone by reducing strain on the grid and the need for utility spending.
The utility story that solar customers are all wealthy and save too much money is also false. Solar is predominantly adopted by working class customers seeking to stabilize their energy costs and support California’s clean energy goals.
If lawmakers are serious about controlling energy costs, they should address the real problem: runaway utility spending. Instead they seem more interested in protecting utility profits and blaming solar users.
Throughout the process, Assemblymembers commented how they heard more opposition to AB 942 than any other bill this session. That opposition will only grow louder when AB 942 moves to the Senate and Californians continue to make their voices heard against a bill that would undermine property rights, reduce home values, and jeopardize the state’s clean energy future.
A broad coalition of more than 100 environmental, climate, clean energy, consumer, economic justice and affordable housing advocates signed a letter calling on California legislators to reject AB 942. AB 942 is also opposed by the California Association of Realtors, the California Building Industry Association, and Los Angeles Business Council.
For more information on AB 942, please read CALSSA’s backgrounder.
For more information on the drivers of utility rate increases and how solar reduces costs for all energy consumers please read CALSSA’s recent report
