satellitemike
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The California State Assembly’s Utilities and Energy Committee has voted 10-4 to pass an amended version of Assembly Bill 942, which seeks to cut compensation rates for existing rooftop solar customers that send electricity to the grid.
The bill requires homes with rooftop solar that are sold or transferred to be shifted off their net energy metering plans, reducing the expected bill savings from the system.
AB 942, as originally proposed, sought to sunset net energy metering (NEM) for homeowners who installed solar under the NEM 1.0 and 2.0 rate plans within a 10-year window. The bill would have forced customers onto NEM 3.0, which pays about 80% less for electricity sent to the grid, making solar investments less financially viable.
The amended bill removed the 10-year sunset for all customers but retained the requirement that sold or transferred homes be shifted onto NEM 3.0.
Brad Heavner, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA), said the bill “breaks contractual promises with millions of solar users.”
An average rooftop solar customer would face an electricity bill increase of about $63 per month after selling or transferring their home, potentially complicating real estate transactions.
Heavner said the amended AB 942 would be “unworkable in practice, putting utilities in the position of verifying real estate transactions … Messing with home values and the transferability of property has long been considered a dangerous ‘third rail' for California politicians, and this interference is no different.”
Lisa Calderon, an assembly member, filed the bill. Calderon previously spent 25 years in government affairs and political compliance with Southern California Edison, one of the state's investor-owned utilities.
“AB 942 backers claim it is intended to lower energy rates, but it is actually designed to protect utility profits,” said Heavner. “The real reason electricity rates keep skyrocketing in California is out of control utility spending on transmission infrastructure.”
The California Public Utilities Commission reports that the state's three largest electric utilities – PG&E, SCE, and SDGE – have raised customer rates by 110%, 90%, and 82%, respectively, over the last decade. Despite relatively flat electricity usage, utilities' transmission and distribution spending has increased by 300%.
“For-profit utilities get a lucrative guaranteed profit return on infrastructure spending, which provides an ongoing motive to keep spending more,” said Heavner.
Rooftop solar was estimated to save all California ratepayers, including non-solar customers, $1.5 billion in 2024 alone. However, it competes directly with the profit model of the state’s largest investor-owned utilities, which has made it a target for regulatory criticism.
“In solar, California leads. If this bill makes it to [California Governor] Newsom’s desk, we expect other states will be emboldened to take similar actions,” said Fox Swim, senior solar industry researcher at Aurora Solar. “What we should really be doing is incentivizing residential solar plus storage for its environmental and reliability benefits.”
The bill requires homes with rooftop solar that are sold or transferred to be shifted off their net energy metering plans, reducing the expected bill savings from the system.
AB 942, as originally proposed, sought to sunset net energy metering (NEM) for homeowners who installed solar under the NEM 1.0 and 2.0 rate plans within a 10-year window. The bill would have forced customers onto NEM 3.0, which pays about 80% less for electricity sent to the grid, making solar investments less financially viable.
The amended bill removed the 10-year sunset for all customers but retained the requirement that sold or transferred homes be shifted onto NEM 3.0.
Brad Heavner, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA), said the bill “breaks contractual promises with millions of solar users.”
An average rooftop solar customer would face an electricity bill increase of about $63 per month after selling or transferring their home, potentially complicating real estate transactions.
Heavner said the amended AB 942 would be “unworkable in practice, putting utilities in the position of verifying real estate transactions … Messing with home values and the transferability of property has long been considered a dangerous ‘third rail' for California politicians, and this interference is no different.”
Lisa Calderon, an assembly member, filed the bill. Calderon previously spent 25 years in government affairs and political compliance with Southern California Edison, one of the state's investor-owned utilities.
“AB 942 backers claim it is intended to lower energy rates, but it is actually designed to protect utility profits,” said Heavner. “The real reason electricity rates keep skyrocketing in California is out of control utility spending on transmission infrastructure.”
The California Public Utilities Commission reports that the state's three largest electric utilities – PG&E, SCE, and SDGE – have raised customer rates by 110%, 90%, and 82%, respectively, over the last decade. Despite relatively flat electricity usage, utilities' transmission and distribution spending has increased by 300%.
“For-profit utilities get a lucrative guaranteed profit return on infrastructure spending, which provides an ongoing motive to keep spending more,” said Heavner.
Rooftop solar was estimated to save all California ratepayers, including non-solar customers, $1.5 billion in 2024 alone. However, it competes directly with the profit model of the state’s largest investor-owned utilities, which has made it a target for regulatory criticism.
“In solar, California leads. If this bill makes it to [California Governor] Newsom’s desk, we expect other states will be emboldened to take similar actions,” said Fox Swim, senior solar industry researcher at Aurora Solar. “What we should really be doing is incentivizing residential solar plus storage for its environmental and reliability benefits.”
Stevie Wonder saw this shit coming.
