Will State Regulators Kill Rooftop Solar?

By Tom Elias, Columnist

If California’s often misguided utility regulators wanted to prove they are determined to favor privately owned electric companies over almost any other interest, they could not do better than with new rules they now propose to inflict on people with rooftop solar panels.

To understand this ongoing dispute, take a look at how utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric profit most from solar.

When photovoltaic solar panels are installed atop roofs, parking lots and in backyards, the local electric company makes no money under the current rules, known as “net energy metering,” or NEM. Homeowners, parking lot owners and others with panels use the energy they need, then send the rest to the general grid and get paid minor sums for it.

Without rooftop solar, which requires no new transmission lines to reach its end users, the private utilities must buy power from vast solar thermal farms in the California deserts, transporting the energy on lines that cost billions of dollars to erect. Without some form of solar, the utilities cannot meet state renewable energy quotas.

Every cent the utilities spend on new transmission lines comes from consumers, but the companies are guaranteed to profit by more than 10 percent each year on all they spend for such capital investments.

So the utilities have a strong interest in putting the clamps on rooftop solar. Did the PUC know before making its new rule proposal that within days, the federal government would OK building two new solar thermal farms deep in the Mojave Desert?

It was the often-misguided Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego who first tried to stifle rooftop solar, carrying a 2020 bill with rules very like what’s now before the PUC, due for a vote Jan. 27 in San Francisco.

Gonzalez, who also wrote the ill-advised AB5 that has wrecked the livelihoods of many freelance professionals and others, proposed ending the current guarantee to solar homeowners that rules will remain stable for at least 20 years after systems go in. She wanted the PUC to set new monthly fees for solar owners connected to the grid – about 97 percent of rooftop solar owners.

Her bill died quickly. But the newly termed out PUC Commissioner Martha Guzman-Aceves, a former United Farm Workers lawyer, picked up on it with today’s proposal, which goes beyond even what Gonzalez proposed.

It would impose a monthly fee of approximately $50 to $70 on each rooftop owner and reduce what home solar owners get for their excess power, among other items.

That’s just what the utilities want. They pretend this will save non rooftop solar owners money, but never mention their baked-in profits from new transmission lines, money that’s included in electric rates. Meanwhile, millions of consumers can already get solar power from publicly owned Community Choice Aggregations in places like Butte, Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. These outfits provide energy cheaper than the utilities while renting space on the companies’ transmission lines to bring power to their customers.

So it’s no wonder the utilities like the proposed new rules, with their disincentives to installing new rooftop panels. Said Southern California Edison when the plan got preliminary approval, “(This is) a meaningful step (to) reduce the financial burden on non-solar customers who have subsidized net energy metering…”

That’s the kind of half-truth California’s utilities often spout. In this case, needed new transmission lines will ensure a large net benefit to the companies at customer expense.

Right now, there is every likelihood the PUC will rubber stamp the new rules, no matter what it hears during the current public comment period, when anyone can speak or write their piece to the commissioners.

But by Jan. 27, the PUC will have two new members, giving at least some hope this will suffer the same fate as the Gonzalez bill of 2020.

Odds are the PUC will OK this proposal, just as it does most items its staff presents. That would be yet another contribution to the long tradition of state and federal regulators favoring the big companies over their customers.

Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net

Related Posts

Metro D Line Resumes Today After 70-Day Closure

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

The shutdown, which began May 17, enabled Metro to connect the current line to newly built tunnels extending west under...

Herbie Hancock to Headline Hollywood Bowl in August

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

Known for his decades-spanning career, Hancock is one of jazz’s forward-thinking voices Jazz legend Herbie Hancock is set to return...

County Offers $58M in Parks Grants, Hosts Info Session Wednesday

July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025

The grants aim to enhance park equity, access, and environmental benefits, with awards ranging from $100,000 to $4 million The...

(Photos) See Inside This $60M Holmby Hills Mansion Inspired by a Madrid Museum

July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025

Soaring 30-foot ceilings, adorned with 400-year-old Moorish columns and 16th-17th century Florentine carvings, greet visitors Nestled on the prestigious 133...

Palisades Real Estate Faces Shifting Market Trends Post-Fire

July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025

Marguleas, of Amalfi Estates, predicts a peak of 500 active land listings by mid-to-late 2026 if the current pace of...

One-Acre Riviera Lot Listed for $7.25M After Fire Loss

July 13, 2025

July 13, 2025

The site includes completed Phase I and II plans featuring an accessory dwelling unit, infinity pool, sauna/gym, and sport court...

Over $100M Allocated for Affordable Housing in Wildfire Recovery

July 9, 2025

July 9, 2025

Applications for the first phase of funding open July 21 with a deadline of August 21 at 4 p.m. Six...

Multi-Family Venice Property on Rare Double Lot Lists at Over $5M

July 7, 2025

July 7, 2025

In total, the four units provide 5,398 square feet of living space A multi-family property located one block from Venice...

Vacant Alphabet Streets Lot Lists for $1.99M After Price Cuts

July 7, 2025

July 7, 2025

The site previously held a 6,001-square-foot residence built in 2018, which included a basement, possibly streamlining the permitting process for...

Six-Bed Mar Vista Hilltop Home Under Construction Lists for $5.3M

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

The private backyard is complete with a pool, spa, fire pit, built-in BBQ, and areas for outdoor dining A stunning...

Three-Bed Palisades Highlands Townhouse Hits Market for $1.7M

June 29, 2025

June 29, 2025

The Mediterranean-style property, located at 1529 Michael Lane, is part of a 71-unit community A remodeled 1,919-square-foot townhouse in the...

Benefit Concert to Celebrate Fire Recovery This Weekend at Pepperdine

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Proceeds will benefit the Malibu Fire Relief Fund, with the concert also serving as a tribute to longtime parishioner Betty...

After Losing Medals in Wildfire, Olympian Leaves Palisades for South Florida

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Hall, who had lived in the 1958-built Pacific Palisades home since 2020, ran his successful water safety school, Sea Monkeys...

Real Estate Trends Emerge in Palisades as Rebuild Begins

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

With an estimated 2,000 properties affected by the fires, these initial sales represent only a fraction of what’s expected In...

THIS WEEKEND: Theatre Palisades Stages Last Performances of ‘Jest a Second!’

June 19, 2025

June 19, 2025

The play, a sequel to “Beau Jest,” follows Sarah and Bob, now married and expecting a child, as they navigate...