Is my solar investment protected for 20 years? Yes, if you got solar before April 14, 2023. Here are the details, and why we must keep it this way.
The State of California has had longstanding protections for solar customers
Imagine you sign a two-year contract with your phone company. A few months later, they tell you they’re changing the terms of the contract and making you pay more. That would be unfair, which is why the State of California has had longstanding protections for solar customers to prevent this from happening.
Two million California ratepayers have invested in solar energy with the understanding that they would be on a program called “net metering” for 20 years. Net metering lets solar customers sell the extra electricity their panels make back to the power company, lowering their bills, while also protecting them from utility fees and charges.
20 years is important because that’s about how long solar panels are warrantied to last. These protections apply to solar customers who signed up before April 14, 2023, and are sometimes called “NEM 1.0” or “NEM 2.0”.
This 20-year promise wasn't just made up; it's based on solid decisions from important people
Back in 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law (AB 327) that told state energy officials to revise the net metering program but also said people who already had solar should be protected for the full lifespan of their systems.
The CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates private utilities in California, defined what that lifespan was. In 2014, they made a decision that they reaffirmed just two years later that said anyone who got solar before July 1, 2017 would stay on their plan for 20 years. They knew that solar panels are a big investment, and that people needed certainty in their investment.
In 2022, when the CPUC again modified the state’s net metering program, they reaffirmed these protections yet again. People who got solar before April 14, 2023 are also protected for 20 years. It was like they were saying, “We know we’re changing things, but we’re keeping our word to you, the early adopters of solar.”
The state and utility signed a contract with you to make this promise official
Solar customers are required to sign an “interconnection agreement” with their utility. This is a formal contract. The State of California requires the utility to include the twenty year protection in the terms of the contract.
Here is the actual language of the contract
Below is language from PG&E’s Interconnection Agreement for “NEM2” customers. Everyone who signed up for solar between 2015 and April 2023 signed this contract. The language is almost identical for SDG&E and Edison.
The contract clearly states:
[Customer]...will be interconnected subject to the terms and conditions as set forth in Schedule NEM2.
...This is a legally binding contract.
PG&E’s Schedule NEM2 (a separate document) specifies that the solar system can stay on NEM2 for twenty years, even if the home is sold to another owner.
The same language is in the documents for both SDG&E (p. 27) and Edison (pp. 32 & 33).
Quoting from the PG&E contract:
Customers...are eligible to continue receiving service on this NEM2 Schedule for a period of 20 years from the original year in which their Generating Facility was interconnected to PG&E’s grid.
Transferability. Renewable Energy Generating Facilities eligible for the 20-year transition period shall not lose their eligibility if transferred to a new owner, operator, or PG&E account, provided the REGF remains at its original location.
The state's own materials refer to these protections as a "guarantee"
The CPUC’s Solar Consumer Protection Guide explicitly refers to the twenty year protection as a “guarantee”:
Currently, PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E customers are guaranteed NEM for 20 years from the time their solar system starts operating.
Bottom line: Your solar investment is protected
Bottom line: NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0 customers are protected, and there is strong precedent that California will keep its word to consumers.
