Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

47 minutes ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

49 minutes ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

1 hour ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

1 hour ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

2 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

2 hours ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

3 hours ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

3 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested in Ivanhoe Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large

4 hours ago
California Agency Votes to Reduce Solar Power Buyback Rates
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
December 15, 2022

Share

California utility regulators on Thursday approved major changes to the state’s booming rooftop solar market that they say will more evenly spread the cost of energy and help reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the evening.

California has long led the nation in adoption of home solar panels, and today more than 1.5 million California houses have them on the roof. Under a decades-old program, people with solar panels can get paid by their power companies by sharing excess solar energy they don’t need, and the payments are so generous that some solar homes pay minimal electric bills.

That has led to criticism that homeowners with solar panels aren’t paying their fair share toward the overall energy grid, on which they still rely when they aren’t generating solar power in the evening. Power rates include costs like electric transmission and wildfire prevention work, and state regulators give utilities a set amount they can collect from their customer base.

The changes approved by the California Public Utilities Commission lessens the overall financial incentive for selling excess power back to utilities. It also changes electric rates to try to encourage people to build home storage systems alongside their panels, so they can tap that stored power at night instead of relying on the overall energy grid. Though solar provides a lot of California’s power during the day, fossil fuels largely take over in the evening and during the night.

“For the rooftop solar industry to remain sustainable, we must place greater value on exports during the truly fossil heavy time of day,” said Commissioner John Reynolds. “In short, we are making this change because of our commitment to addressing climate change.”

His comments came in response to sustained criticism over three hours of public comment, in which some speakers accused the commission of hindering the state’s climate efforts.

The fight over changes to the program — directed by the state Legislature — has been controversial from the start, pitting the state’s three major utilities against the solar industry, with many environmental groups caught somewhere in between.

The changes will only apply to customers of those three major utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — and there will be a transition period. They would not affect people who already have rooftop solar, only new customers.

The discussion comes as California pushes forward with ambitious targets for weaning the state off oil and gas. State air regulators are set to vote Thursday on a climate roadmap that says California must quadruple its solar and wind power to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

A utility-backed coalition called Affordable Clean Energy for All estimates that $4 billion in costs are shifted from solar to non-solar customers. The solar industry disputes that number, saying it doesn’t account for the benefits rooftop solar provides for everyone, like making the grid more resilient and reducing the need for utilities to build more costly legacy power equipment.

Today about 16% to 20% of the 150,000 households that install solar panels annually in California add battery storage systems, according to industry estimates.

Broadly, solar companies have warned that fewer people will add home solar because the overall incentives are going down.

“The solar and storage industry remains concerned that the transition from net metering to the new net billing structure is too abrupt and threatens to slow the deployment of rooftop solar in California,” Sean Gallagher, vice president of state and regulatory affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association, said in a statement.

The Public Advocates Office, a consumer advocacy group with the utilities commission, has called the proposal a “step in the right direction.” The group pointed to commission estimates that show the proposal will still save residential solar customers an estimated $100 on their monthly bills, or $136 a month if they also install storage systems.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Lawmakers Renew Concerns About GenScript’s Ties to China

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Fiery DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Several

DON'T MISS

‘Hollywood-Level Scares’ at Immersive Horror Attraction Coming to Fresno This Halloween

DON'T MISS

Hiker Rescued by Helicopter After Injury on Pacific Crest Trail in Kern County

DON'T MISS

US Military Delivering Some Weapons to Ukraine After Pause

DON'T MISS

Qantas Confirms Personal Data of Over a Million Customers Leaked in Breach

DON'T MISS

US Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israel’s War in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Madera County Structure Fire Spreads to Vegetation in Coarsegold Area, Evacuations Ordered

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Guadalupe Gilberto Moreno

DON'T MISS

Blackstone Businesses Demand Fresno Homeless Orgs Stop Drop-Offs on Private Property

UP NEXT

California Highway Patrol Makes 1,311 DUI Arrests During Independence Day Weekend

UP NEXT

California Protester Pulls Mask from ICE Agent During San Diego Clash

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Joins ACLU Lawsuit Against Trump’s Immigration Raids

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues California Over Transgender Athletes in Schools

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

UP NEXT

TSA Set to Let Airport Travelers Keep Their Shoes on, Media Reports Say

UP NEXT

Space Industry Urges Congress Not to Axe System That Prevents Satellite Collisions

UP NEXT

Federal Agents March Through Los Angeles, Spurring Local Outrage

UP NEXT

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

UP NEXT

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

1 hour ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

1 hour ago

Kyiv Received Political Signals for US Aid Resumption, Zelenskiy Says

2 hours ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

2 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

2 hours ago

Bitcoin Hits Fresh Record High

2 hours ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

3 hours ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

3 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested in Ivanhoe Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large

4 hours ago

State Department Says Reorganization Plan Moving to Implementation

WASHINGTON -A plan to reorganize and streamline the U.S. State Department is moving into the implementation phase following a Supreme Court ...

24 minutes ago

The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. (Reuters File)
24 minutes ago

State Department Says Reorganization Plan Moving to Implementation

Three people were arrested and multiple weapons were seized after a standoff at a Northeast Fresno apartment on Tuesday, July 8 2025, police said. (Fresno PD)
47 minutes ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

A Tesla logo is pictured on a car in the rain in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., May 5, 2021. (Reuters File)
49 minutes ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned over 80,000 acres, injured one firefighter, and prompted evacuation orders and warnings across multiple zones. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

A general view shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Kyiv Received Political Signals for US Aid Resumption, Zelenskiy Says

A person walks outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building after it was reported that the HHS will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs and close half of its regional offices, a major overhaul of the department under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis)
2 hours ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

Joshua White was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a man multiple times in northeast Fresno. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend