Equity Concerns Fuel CPUC Debate on State Solar Rules

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

The California Public Utilities Commission is debating potential updates to its rooftop solar program to address customer complaints about equity in billing. California’s Net Energy Metering subsidy program, which credits solar panel-owning customers when their systems generate excess electricity, has been contributing to higher electric bills across the state. The “cost-shift” element places an unfair financial burden on customers without solar panels, shifting the ongoing costs for overall maintenance of the state’s electric grid to them. Advocates for reform want customers with solar panels to pay their fair share of system maintenance, while others worry a rule change would decrease incentives to go solar, impacting the state’s clean energy efforts. We’ll discuss the ways California’s solar rules could be reformed and what potential changes could mean for solar energy in the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
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0:59.4	From KQED Public Radio in San Francisco, this is Forum. I'm Katie Orr.
1:18.9	California's sunny skies make it an ideal place for solar energy. In fact, more than 1 million people have installed rooftop solar systems on their homes.
1:28.2	Those homeowners are able to sell excess energy back to the grid and get credit towards their bill, but critics
1:33.2	say the program benefits wealthier Californians while leaving low-income communities with higher
1:38.5	electricity bills. Others fear changes to the successful program could make it harder for California to meet its clean energy goals.
1:46.6	We'll take a deep dive into solar and we'll talk about how the socialization of babies and toddlers might have been affected by the pandemic.
1:54.4	That's next on Forum right after this news.
2:06.0	Welcome to Forum. I'm Katie Orr in for Mina Kim.
2:11.1	California's abundant sunshine makes it an ideal place for solar energy.
2:16.2	And the industry has been booming. More than one million homes have installed solar systems.
2:22.0	Much of the growth has been driven by California's Net Energy Metering Subsidy Program, which credits solar panel-owning customers when their systems generate excess electricity.
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