Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

2 days ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

2 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

2 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

3 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

3 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

3 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

3 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

4 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

4 days ago
California Supreme Court Hands Victory to Rooftop Solar Panel Owners
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 3 weeks ago on
August 11, 2025

Rooftop solar panels on a home in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, Feb. 18, 2020. (CalMatters/Anne Wernikoff)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

The California Supreme Court has sided with environmental groups in a case seen as pivotal for the proliferation of rooftop solar power in California.

Portrait of CalMatters Reporter Malena Carollo

By

CalMatters

In a unanimous vote on Aug. 7, justices told a lower court to revisit a ruling that upheld reduced payments to solar panel owners for selling excess power back to utility companies. Justices did not rule on whether the changes to the solar program were legal, requiring the court of appeals to determine this.

“They basically said the lower court kind of punted on the whole substance of the (solar payments) decision,” Bernadette Del Chiaro, vice president for California at the Environmental Working Group, said. “I do think they’re clearly stating this needs to be reviewed.”

At issue is a 2022 decision by state regulators to reduce by about 75% payments to solar panel owners for excess power.

The change was intended to help make bills affordable for all customers while still encouraging the adoption of renewable energy sources. Three environmental groups that brought the lawsuit — the Center for Biological Diversity, The Protect our Communities Foundation, and the Environmental Working Group — argued in the case that the state utilities commission’s decision left out crucial considerations around benefits to customers and disadvantaged communities.

“We don’t need (to be in) an affordability crisis if we have more local generation,” said Roger Lin, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Changes to Utilities Pricing Structure for Solar

Utilities pay solar panel owners for their excess power under a program known as “net energy metering.” In previous iterations of the program – “NEM 1.0” and “NEM 2.0” – utilities paid solar customers a retail rate for their extra energy, which is the same price the utilities charge other customers when they resell that energy. This was changed under the current iteration of the program – “NEM 3.0” – which instead gives customers the “avoided cost,” which is how much utilities save by not buying that power on the wholesale market.

Customers who joined the program after mid-April 2023 receive the new rate, while customers under the prior two versions will continue to receive the old rate for the duration of their contracts, which is typically about 20 years.

Utility commissioners ruled in favor of power companies, which argued that older versions of the program created an unfair cost burden on customers. Those without rooftop solar, utilities said, have to pay more than their peers for routine maintenance to the grid. The groups bringing the lawsuit said this idea is overblown.  A court of appeals upheld regulators’ decision, relying on a legal standard that gives significant deference to decisions made by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Thursday’s decision said the court of appeals “erred” by using this standard.

Implications for State Regulators

Whether or not the change in how solar panel owners are paid is legal will be left to the lower courts. But the decision could have farther-reaching implications for state utility regulators.

“We appreciate the Court’s careful attention to the appropriate standard of deference for reviewing CPUC decisions,” Terrie Prosper, utility commission spokesperson, said. “We are pleased that the CPUC’s decision will remain in effect as an important part of controlling electricity bills.”

Advocates said the decision reinforces that the utilities commission must ensure that its decisions fit squarely within the law.

“For too long, they really have operated in a black box behind a shroud of complexity,” Del Chiaro said. “Consumers and the planet have consistently lost out as a result of that.”

The fallout from the utilities commission’s 2022 net metering decision included an 82% drop in customers requesting connections for rooftop solar installations, and industry groups expected a loss of about 17,000 jobs during the first year of the change.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

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

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

DON'T MISS

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

DON'T MISS

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

DON'T MISS

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

DON'T MISS

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

DON'T MISS

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

UP NEXT

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

UP NEXT

Most Trump Tariffs Are Not Legal, US Appeals Court Rules

UP NEXT

California Schools Reverse Truancy Trends. Improving Reading Scores Could Be Next

UP NEXT

High-Speed Rail Hits a New Snag as Lawmakers Reject Proposal to Expedite Construction

UP NEXT

Lawsuit Links CA Teen’s Suicide To Artificial Intelligence

UP NEXT

Fresno Spotlight: Lawsuit in Killing of Homeless Man by Deputies Will Go to Trial

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Launches New Task Force To Clear CA Homeless Encampments

UP NEXT

Judge Allows Release of Accused Arsonist Bobby Salazar on $1M Bond

UP NEXT

Judge Blocks Enforcement of Texas Law Restricting DEI and ESG Advice

UP NEXT

Feds Add Third Charge for Bobby Salazar. Restaurant Owner Denies Them All in Court.

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

14 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

14 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

15 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

15 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

15 hours ago

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

15 hours ago

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

1 day ago

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

1 day ago

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

2 days ago

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

2 days ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

A lightning-sparked wildfire, the Garnet Fire, in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres in Fresno County and remains at 8% cont...

14 hours ago

Photo: USDA - Forest Service Tanker 40 at Fresno Air Attack Base. The Fresno County Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres and is 8% contained as crews make progress on containment lines while bracing for possible thunderstorms early this week. (Sam Wu/USFS)
14 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
14 hours ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

Demonstrators hold a banner during the 'March for Australia' anti-immigration rally, in Sydney, Australia, August 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
14 hours ago

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

President Donald Trump walks on the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., August 30, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
14 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

Activists Yasemin Acar, Greta Thunberg and Thiago Avila attend a press conference before the departure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, at the port of Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Eva Manez)
15 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

National Guard troops wear gas masks during protests against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

A view of tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive, in Gaza City, August 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

Search

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

Send this to a friend