The Latest
April 20, 2026 update: Rooftop solar allies filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court to overturn the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) “NEM3” decision.
The appeal was made after a lower court, the State Court of Appeal, sided with the CPUC a second time.
Here is more background on the lawsuit:
Who filed the lawsuit
The Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group, and Protect Our Communities Foundation are the lawsuit plaintiffs. These groups are rooftop solar allies. They worked side-by-side with nearly 200,000 Californians, Solar Rights Alliance, and 600 other nonprofits, cities and schools to stop the utilities and CPUC from killing rooftop solar.
Why they filed the lawsuit
In December 2022, the CPUC slashed the credit that solar users get for sharing their extra solar energy with the grid by 80%. This change affects anyone who went solar after April 2023.
Just as we warned, the real world impact of NEM3 is unfolding in the form of declining consumer adoption of solar (see p. 31) and business bankruptcies.
Details of the lawsuit
Our side has argued to both the lower court and the CA Supreme Court that the CPUC’s NEM3 decision violates the law.
Specifically, our side contends that California law unambiguously says that any changes to the net metering program must consider all of the benefits of rooftop solar to all ratepayers, to the grid, and to the state’s environmental goals. In contrast, we believe that the CPUC only considered how net metering affects the utilities and their business model.
In 2024, the Court of Appeal rejected our lawsuit, not because they disagreed with our argument, but because they believed that the courts did not have the power to review most CPUC decisions.
Our side appealed to the CA Supreme Court, who in 2025 agreed in with us that the CPUC was not above the law.
The CA Supreme Court then ordered the Court of Appeal to actually consider the merits of our case, like we originally asked.
In 2025, our side again filed our arguments to the State Court of Appeal. Unfortunately, the court again ignored state law, and continued to give extreme deference to the CPUC, regardless of what California law actually says.
What the lawsuit asks for
The lawsuit asks for the Court to reverse the CPUC’s NEM3 ruling and require the CPUC to redo the decision, this time while considering all of rooftop solar’s benefits.
What's next
Over the next few months, the State Supreme Court will review both sides’ arguments, and ultimately decide whether or not to overturn the Court of Appeal again. will read through them.
We expect a decision sometime in Agust 20926. However, the exact date is not certain.
