It’s easy to see why the utilities want to make rooftop solar consumers the scapegoat for high electricity prices: they think your solar is competition that threatens their future profits.
But why has Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration joined the blame game? Especially when the data so clearly shows that rooftop solar saves all ratepayers money?
Here are three possible reasons why:
1. Money in politics
All of our recent governors took political donations from the utilities. But the chart below shows a major difference in scale between Gov. Newsom and the two governors before him.
Most notable are the large donations to Governor Newsom from the labor union affiliated with the utilities. The union (IBEW) and PG&E have a longstanding contract that requires the union to defend PG&E’s business interests against “competitive challenges” (see pp. vi-v and p. 1 of their agreement).
The IBEW aggressively lobbies against rooftop solar in Sacramento. For example, they pushed AB 1139, a bill that would have gutted incentives for solar users and levied a tax on all solar panels. They were also major players pushing the gutting of solar incentives at the CA Public Utilities Commission in 2021 and 2022.
2. Intellectual Capture
The utilities do some good things, and there are good people who work for the utilities. But if you spend all day, every day with the utilities, then you can become intellectually captured. The utilities have hordes of lobbyists, analysts, and public relations professionals talking to regulators, lawmakers, and nonprofit organizations every day, all year long.
This is also known as “regulatory capture“. It happens from the lowest ranks of an agency to the highest officials. It can also affect nonprofit organizations who are in the utilities’ orbit, such as TURN and NRDC.
3. Scapegoating
Gov. Newsom needs an excuse for the unprecedented rate increases his administration has sanctioned over the past six years, as shown by the chart below.
The rate increases are a direct result of out-of-control utility spending and lax regulation. Utility spending on the grid has skyrocketed, even though electricity demand has been flat. And wildfire mitigation is only a small portion of the rate hikes shown here.
Regulators have failed to rein in utility spending. But it would be difficult for regulators to admit to being complicit or asleep at the wheel. They need a scapegoat. The utilities served up rooftop solar on a silver platter and they took it.
Not all politicians are buying into the blame game. Let's encourage good leadership!
A new analysis shows that rooftop solar users saved all ratepayers $1.49 billion in 2024 alone. Another study found that building more rooftop solar and batteries in the future can save all ratepayers $300 / year for the next thirty years.
This data has inspired a growing number of state Legislators to stand up for rooftop solar and push to reverse some of the damage that Gov. Newsom’s administration has done.
But we have lots of work ahead of us to wipe out the utility disinformation that has infected Sacramento.
You can help by educating your state legislators as well as local reporters.
