![]() ![]() The Merced Irrigation District approved this year a $65-a-month fee on electricity customers who install solar panels starting in January.Īt the same time, a bipartisan Solar Bill of Rights that would have, to a certain extent, prohibited such fees died earlier this year in the state Legislature after being heavily criticized by utilities. The move was to “ensure that everyone pays their fair share for their use of the energy grid,” according to the utility’s website. The Imperial Irrigation District went so far as to stop offering net metering compensation in 2016 to all new solar customers. “Back in March, they tried to put a $40 to $50 per month fee on rooftop solar, which would have killed the cost effectiveness.” “With SMUD in Sacramento, they are extremely hostile to rooftop solar,” said Benjamin Davis, a policy associate with the California Solar & Storage Assn. Regulators have so far declined to approve the utility’s idea, asking for more information on the proposal. ![]() The utility also caught flak from advocates after it proposed a workaround to the state’s mandate that most new home construction include solar panels starting in 2020. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District floated a similar fee earlier this year but walked it back after a public outcry. State regulators will consider the proposal in coming months. Officials were frank about their intentions to target solar customers. Many electric service providers in California have, in recent years, adopted or recommended policies that’ve increasingly drawn the ire of the rooftop solar industry.įor example, SDG&E recently proposed raising its minimum bill from $10 a month to $38 a month. “If you do the numbers right, solar is contributing to a reduction in the cost of operating the electricity grid now and in the future.” “They trot out this cost-shifting argument that looks on the face of it like they care about equity, but really the opposite is true,” said Dave Rosenfeld, executive director of the Solar Rights Alliance, a new consumer rights group funded by ratepayers and rooftop solar companies. “We will seek sensible solutions that continue to encourage solar power but don’t adversely affect working families who can’t afford solar systems,” he added.Īdvocates have said that utilities are exaggerating the challenges that rooftop solar creates and downplaying the value it adds to the overall system. Subscribe to San Diego News Fix wherever you get your podcasts Hear more about this story on our news podcast ![]()
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