State officials are proposing to tax you for putting solar panels on your roof. It's another profit grab for the utilities.
We believe you have the right to make energy from the sun on your property without unreasonable interference by the utility.
The threat to solar
On December 13th, the CPUC proposed to charge consumers a solar tax of $57 per month on average – just for putting solar panels on their roof! This and the other components of the proposal are a near carbon-copy of that PG&E, So Cal Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric lobbied for.
The CPUC’s proposal would put solar out of reach for the working and middle class, just when it is taking off.
150,000 people have submitted an official public comment in favor of making rooftop solar more affordable, not less
Over 150,000 Californians have sent an official, written public comment against a Solar Tax and in favor of making rooftop solar more affordable, not less.
We hand-delivered many of these public comments in December, after forming a human billboard on the North Lawn of the State Capitol that spelled out the following message: “Gov: 100,000+ Say Stop Utility Profit Grab”.
Over 3,000 people have marched in the streets for rooftop solar
On January 13th, over three thousand solar workers, solar users, environmentalists and social justice advocates marched around the CPUC’s offices in LA and San Francisco.
Hundreds have packed CPUC meetings
Hundreds of people have called into CPUC meetings over the last few months to give public comment, often waiting for hours to make their voices heard. Over 85% of all the public comments have been against a Solar Tax and for making rooftop solar more affordable.
Thanks to the grassroots outcry, Gov. Newsom said the CPUC should revise their proposal
Faced with mounting questions from the public and the news media, Gov. Newsom said in late January that “changes need to be made” to the CPUC’s Solar Tax proposal.
Now, the CPUC says they are making revisions to their proposal.
But neither Gov. Newsom nor the CPUC have said exactly what changes they intend to support, or when they will make them.
The CPUC is digging in with a new Solar Tax proposal, while also spreading utility misinformation. Is Gov. Newsom going to provide the leadership we need?
Despite the CPUC’s claim that they are revising their original proposal with an open mind, they came back on May 9th with…another Solar Tax!
Meanwhile, high-ranking CPUC officials are still spreading utility propaganda about rooftop solar.
Take Action: Stop the Utility Profit Grab
It was a massive public outcry that stopped the Solar Tax the first time, and it will be a massive public outcry that will save rooftop solar once and for all. Please make your voice heard!
The net metering policy that puts consumers at the center
Most people, including Governor Newsom, agree that the CPUC’s proposed rooftop solar decision (Net Energy Metering 3.0 or “NEM3”) needs to be changed. The billion dollar question now is, “what changes will Governor Newsom and the CPUC make?” Since the CPUC’s original proposal from December is so extreme, measuring the effectiveness of the Governor’s response must be based on basic…
Update: Solar Tax defeated, again!
We are happy to report that the authors of SB 846 have agreed to clarify in writing that the bill will not impose a Solar Tax on the solar energy you produce and consume at home. In other words, you helped defeat the Solar Tax. Again. This is the third time in the last year we have had to fight to…
The utilities are the masterminds behind the smear campaign against rooftop solar
For those who are curious, the three investor-owned utilities – PG&E, SoCal Edison and SDG&E – are behind the pressure and misinformation campaign to kill rooftop solar. The utilities’ campaign against rooftop solar is being waged by a nice-sounding front group called “Affordable Clean Energy for All”. They have a slick website called Fix the Cost Shift. They claim to…