Proposed changes by the state for solar customers drawing concerns
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Proposed changes by California regulators could dramatically alter the solar energy market for current and future customers.
A controversial move that is being considered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) would reduce current incentives for homeowners to install rooftop solar panels.
The CPUC proposal would perhaps most significantly reduce the rate homeowners with solar panels receive when they send power to the statewide electrical grid.
"It's going to change the compensation rate that solar homeowners get when they produce excess energy and send it to the grid," said Frank Scotti, Solarponics Chief Marketing Officer. "It's going to cut your savings in half or by closer to 80 percent of your savings by investing in solar. NEM 3 (Net Energy Metering) is basically going to take your payback from an average of five to seven years, which it is now, to 10 to 15 years."
Scotti added that many within the solar industry are raising concerns about the proposals, claiming it will potentially hurt the number of customers who switch to solar in the future.
"Everybody within the solar industry is against this," said Scotti. "Most environmental groups are against it. The groups that are for it are utility companies and unions. It's really bad for consumers. It's really bad for the solar industry and it's really bad for California."
"It's really going to hinder solar adoption in the future. It's probably going to cost the industry a lot of jobs and it's going to cost homeowners a ton of savings."
The reduced savings per month would greatly lengthen the timeframe it takes for homeowners to payoff the installation and costs of their system.
"It's going to cut your savings in half or by closer to 80 percent of your savings by investing in solar," said Scotti. (The proposal) is basically going to take your payback from an average of five to seven years, which it is now, to 10 to 15 years."
He fears reduced cost will lead to fewer people choosing to install solar panels.
"The incentive to invest in solar goes away," Scotti said. "If we penalize homeowners for going solar, and they don't go solar, there's also the environmental benefit that we're losing. People aren't going to put solar on their rooftops anymore, so we're going to lose all that forward momentum that we've had and all that grid security and all of that environmental impact."
It's estimated there are well more than one million homes in California that have rooftop panels. Deana Casarez of Atascadero is one of them. She's had solar panels on her Atascadero home for about five years.
"Installing solar has been great," said Casarez. "It's been great for the environment and it's been great for our home. We really enjoy not having to pay an energy bill."
She agreed with Scotti that reductions in savings to homeowners would impact the number of people who consider solar systems for their home.
"People would not want to get solar at point if they were paying so much extra to PG&E," said Casarez. "I'm hoping that they don't vote this in. I'm hoping it does not pass and we are able to continue in the route that we're going with solar."
Utility companies are saying the changes would help offset costs for maintaining the statewide electrical system and would potentially help out customers who cannot afford solar installation by reducing their electric bills.
On Thursday, the CPUC delayed a key vote on the proposal, pushing back a decision to sometime in the future. Regulators with the commission will potentially consider changes to the proposal moving forward.
