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The California Public Utilities Commission is back with another proposed decision against rooftop solar.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has released a proposed decision that is expected to detrimental to the value of rooftop solar for tenants in multi-family homes, farms, and schools.
The decision sets strict limits on the amount of electricity produced by rooftop solar that can be self-consumed by multi-metered properties. The policy forces customers to first sell their solar output to the utility and then buy it back at higher prices.
Californias virtual net metering and net metering aggregation programs allow properties with multiple meters to install a single, property-wide solar installation, sharing electricity from one system and associated net metering credits with all customers and property accountants. This new decision proposal considers that these customers should be limited in the amount of their own solar production that they can use, even if it is stored in their own battery.
The decision not to allow multi-meter properties to draw electricity from a system they own and manage has a clear reason: profit protection. If a rooftop solar owner uses his own electricity, he is not buying it from the power company. The CPUC has shown time and time again that protecting utility profits is one of its primary functions in the past year of regulatory decisions on rooftop solar.
“It would force multi-meter property customers – such as renters, small farmers, schools and universities – to sell all their generation to the electric company at low prices and buy it back at retail prices,” the Solar Power and Storage Association said. of California (CALSSA).
The proposed decision is scheduled for a CPUC vote on September 21, 2023.
Californias rooftop solar market has already taken heavy demand hits in recent months with the rollout of Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0, a move that slashed compensation fees for exporting excess solar production. to network.
Despite warnings from industry, environmentalists, and California residents that the move would be a devastating blow to residential solar, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) went ahead with NEM 3.0, destroying the value of Send excess local solar generation to the grid.
And despite NEM 3.0 advocates claiming the industry would weather the storm and start installing batteries in customer systems, according to Wood Mackenzie, demand in California is expected to drop nearly 40% through next year. The problem has been compounded by rising interest rates, which have worsened the loan packages offered to customers.
The proposed new decision for properties with multiple meters is an example of inconsistent logic on the part of the CPUC. While NEM 3.0 was justified by the fact that net metering of rooftop solar causes non-customers to cross-subsidize rooftop solar customers, this new decision would actually increase the amount of electricity which is measured net. The only consistency: both regulatory decisions benefit the profits of public service companies. |
