Boomer23
Well-known member
No comment has been posted here yet, so I thought I'd commemorate a victory at the CPUC yesterday.
I was surprised that the vote was a so close at 3-2 to finally approve a version of the PUC proposal that was provisionally approved in December.
With this decision, retail net metering was extended for the so-called NEM 2.0 period which begins at different times in the next year for each of the three large IOUs, but no later than July 2017.
This is a huge victory for the residential solar movement in California and across the country, since this decision was being watched closely.
The decision means that retail net metering will be retained for the next generation of home solar installations, with minor modifications. There will be small "non-bypassable" charges of between 2 and 4 cents per kWh (I'm not sure which) of all power pulled from the utility (I believe that is all utility power, not just net power after subtracting home generated power) that the utilities were able to justify being needed to help cover the costs of various programs and grid maintenance. In addition, newly installed systems will require a one-time hookup fee of up to $150, and new system owners will have no choice but to go on time of use rate plans.
All told, though, the agreed upon package will maintain almost all of the benefits that current residential solar customers enjoy, and combined with lower panel costs and the rather unexpected re-approval by Congress of the Federal solar Investment Tax Credit of 30%, the growth of residential solar in the state should continue to gain momentum.
However, the PUC scheduled another examination of residential solar rates in 2019, so we'll see what happens in three years.
The two commissioners who voted no on the proposal are said to have felt that some modifications added late in the rule writing process went too far in the direction of helping the solar proponents, whom they thought were already getting a great deal in the earlier version.
I was surprised that the vote was a so close at 3-2 to finally approve a version of the PUC proposal that was provisionally approved in December.
With this decision, retail net metering was extended for the so-called NEM 2.0 period which begins at different times in the next year for each of the three large IOUs, but no later than July 2017.
This is a huge victory for the residential solar movement in California and across the country, since this decision was being watched closely.
The decision means that retail net metering will be retained for the next generation of home solar installations, with minor modifications. There will be small "non-bypassable" charges of between 2 and 4 cents per kWh (I'm not sure which) of all power pulled from the utility (I believe that is all utility power, not just net power after subtracting home generated power) that the utilities were able to justify being needed to help cover the costs of various programs and grid maintenance. In addition, newly installed systems will require a one-time hookup fee of up to $150, and new system owners will have no choice but to go on time of use rate plans.
All told, though, the agreed upon package will maintain almost all of the benefits that current residential solar customers enjoy, and combined with lower panel costs and the rather unexpected re-approval by Congress of the Federal solar Investment Tax Credit of 30%, the growth of residential solar in the state should continue to gain momentum.
However, the PUC scheduled another examination of residential solar rates in 2019, so we'll see what happens in three years.
The two commissioners who voted no on the proposal are said to have felt that some modifications added late in the rule writing process went too far in the direction of helping the solar proponents, whom they thought were already getting a great deal in the earlier version.