Sacramento, CA— California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) executive director, Bernadette Del Chiaro issued the following statement on the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) apparent further delay on the net metering 3.0 proceeding: 

Solar supporters of all types are relieved it looks as though the CPUC is throwing its unpopular proposed decision in the trash can where it belongs and is hopefully now taking time to go back to the drawing board. 

The December 13 proposed decision was a total giveaway to investor-owned utilities that would have boosted utility profits at the expense of all consumers, tens of thousands of jobs, and California’s clean energy future. A $700 annual tax on rooftop solar and an immediate gutting of the credits solar consumers received would make solar unaffordable for most consumers, especially those in working and middle class neighborhoods where solar is growing fastest. 

We urge the CPUC to listen to the huge and wide-ranging coalition of energy consumers, solar workers, affordable housing advocates, faith leaders, environmentalists, and conservationists who fought back against the utility-driven attempt to stop competition from rooftop solar. 

Any revised proposal that includes a discriminatory tax or fees of any size on solar consumers, or that makes rooftop solar and storage unaffordable to most consumers with drastic and sudden changes to the compensation they receive for selling their excess energy back to the grid, will be met with even louder disapproval. 

Rooftop solar and storage are one of California’s bright spots and they must continue to grow with a strong NEM 3 decision. California is a solar state to its core and we will not let big utilities block out our sun. 

Background on Net Metering

CPUC is considering changes to “net energy metering,” the state policy that makes rooftop solar and storage more affordable for consumers of all types by compensating them for the excess energy they produce and share with their neighbors. Currently 1.3 million consumers use net metering, including thousands of public schools, churches and affordable housing developments, and it is the main driver of California’s world-renowned rooftop solar market. As a result of net metering, working and middle class neighborhoods are just under half of the rooftop solar market and the fastest growing segment today.