California utility companies’ proposed new fees for solar customers rejected
California regulators recently rejected a proposal by state utility companies to raise fees and costs for new solar customers.
The California Public Utilities Commission made a proposal that largely allows solar customers to continue to receive benefits from utilizing solar energy.
CPUC issues proposed #NetEnergyMetering decision to ensure customers continue to benefit from going #solar: https://t.co/oq7Y7KCUr0
— California PUC (@californiapuc) December 15, 2015
Solar companies applauded the developments, while utility companies are still pushing for more changes that would result in higher costs for solar customers.
Southern California Edison and other utilities had lobbied to slash the rates at which solar customers are paid for the electricity they generate and also called for additional fees to solar customers. But the California Public Utilities Commission proposed a successor program to the state's current Net Energy Metering (NEM) program that does not include as many harsh changes to solar customers.
Two new fees for solar customers
While the proposal is largely considered a victory by solar energy advocates, it was not a complete victory for the solar community. Two new fees are included in the proposal that negatively affect new solar customers:
- A one-time interconnection fee, which is likely to be approximately $75-$150.
- Non-bypassable charges that will likely amount to approximately 2-3 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy consumed.
“[Governor Jerry Brown]’s [Public Utilities Commission] is standing up for clean power and for customers by proposing to reject the utilities’ attempts to make solar out of reach for customers.”
— CALSEIA Executive Director Bernadette Del Chiaro in a statement.
Orginally published on → Solar Energy LocalState regulators reject steeper fees for solar users https://t.co/GIKAE9Uezn
— Mercury News (@mercnews) December 15, 2015
