You have the right to make energy from the sun without interference from the utilities.
For years, the monopoly utilities have falsely and outrageously blamed rooftop solar users for rising rates to distract from the real reason rates are so high: increased utility spending.
Economist Dr. Richard McCann has published a new study that shows how rooftop solar saved all ratepayers $1.49 billion in grid costs in 2024. [1]
The study details how the CPUC’s Public Advocates Office used incorrect numbers and omissions to slander rooftop solar consumers.
Rates are not rising because of rooftop solar. Rates are rising because of increased utility spending.
In fact, 92% of the utilities’ rate hikes are a direct result of spending increases on new poles and wires. [2]
And the regulators are repeating the lie about rooftop solar instead of doing their job and holding the utilities accountable.
No one disputes that we need power lines, or the need to maintain them well. But the utilities’ spending on new poles and wires has far outpaced the need, and has been riddled with bloat and waste.
Since 2002, utility spending on transmission and distribution increased more than 300%—even though peak electricity demand was flat. [3]
The state government guarantees the utilities an 8-10% profit from every dollar they spend building new poles and wires—incentivizing the utilities to spend as much as they can get away with. [4]
This is why utility profits are soaring. PG&E alone reported $2.54 Billion in profits in 2023. [5]
And rates have skyrocketed to match.
Wildfire mitigation is only around 12% of all utility spending. [6]
Wildfire mitigation is a notable and important expense, for sure. But despite claims by utilities and regulators, it is not the main reason why rates are going through the roof.
60% of transmission infrastructure is self-approved, which means the regulators don’t even scrutinize it. [7]
And the state’s Auditor has faulted the CPUC for failing to hold the utilities accountable for overspending on distribution infrastructure. [8]
What’s more, for years, utilities and state regulators knew that rooftop solar was reducing peak electricity demand and thereby reducing the need to spend on poles and wires. They ignored this trend and overspent anyway. [9]
Now, instead of owning up to their lax oversight, the regulators have joined the utilities in scapegoating rooftop solar users as if they are to blame for rising rates.
The lie—that rooftop solar users are responsible for rising rates—makes no sense.
When your neighbors turn off their lights to save money, do you blame them for rate increases because they’re using less energy?
When you hang dry your clothes, or turn off your AC, do you expect your electricity rates to go up? No. You are simply using less energy.
In turn, when you make and share your own energy from solar panels, should your rates and your neighbor’s rates go up? Of course not.
In fact, rooftop solar saves all ratepayers money. [10]
It used to be that on hot days, energy demand would spike twice: once in the the middle of the day and again in the evening.
By making their own energy and providing extra for their neighbors, California’s two million rooftop solar consumers have virtually eliminated the midday spike.
The evening peak will also go away as batteries get cheaper and more solar consumers use them to store their excess energy for evening use.
All of this should lower your rates by avoiding billions of dollars of infrastructure spending. [11]
But spending less on poles and wires cuts into utility profits, so our leaders have to be willing to stand up to utility lobbyists to make this happen.
The utilities hired a PR firm to invent the “cost shift” myth, which incorrectly blames rooftop solar for rising electricity bills.
This propaganda strategy was clearly laid out in leaked memos from the Edison Electric Institute. [12]
A utility consulting firm then cooked the math to make the “cost shift” seem real. [13]
Then the utilities spent millions of dollars at every level of government to push the “cost shift” myth that rooftop solar users are at fault for rising rates.
Since 2000, the utilities have spent more than $1 billion in contributions to politicians, nonprofits, community organizations, academic institutions, and trade associations. [14]
56% of all solar users are working and middle class. [15]
These consumers—everyday people from every corner of the state—are reducing the need to build expensive new poles and wires, lowering the strain on the grid, and helping to clean up the environment.
Citations:
[1] New study that shows how rooftop solar saved all ratepayers more than a billion in grid costs in 2024. Report by Richard McCann, M Cubed Consulting, and a letter from energy experts confirming Dr. McCann’s findings. ↑
[2] More than 90% of the utilities’ rate increases are the direct result of their spending increases. Chart prepared by Richard McCann, M Cubed Consulting ↑
[3] Utility spending on transmission & distribution has increased by more than 300% since 2002, even though peak demand has been flat. Chart prepared by Richard McCann, M Cubed Consulting See also former CPUC President Loretta Lunch, April 2024, SF Chronicle: Here’s the real reason PG&E rates are skyrocketing in California ↑
[4] CA Public Utilities Commission: Return on Equity (ROE) (Actual and Authorized), and Utility Costs and Affordability of the Grid of the Future, pp. 24, 37-39 ↑
[5] Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Form 1 filings by utilities, see this chart for visualization. ↑
[6] Wildfire mitigation is only around 12% of all utility spending. Chart prepared by Richard McCann, M Cubed Consulting ↑
[7] CA Public Utilities Commission: Utility Costs and Affordability of the Grid of the Future, pp. 37-39 ↑
[8] Auditor of the State of California, August 2023: Electricity and Natural Gas Rates The California Public Utilities Commission and Cal Advocates Can Better Ensure That Rate Increases Are Necessary; see also San Diego Union Tribune, California regulators must make sure costs to SDG&E ratepayers are not overstated, auditor says ↑
[9] Rooftop solar reduced peak electricity demand (2005-2023). Chart prepared by Richard McCann, M Cubed Consulting. ↑ See also:
[10] See footnote 9. See especially Dr. Richard McCann’s study that rooftop solar customers saved all ratepayers $1.49 billion in 2024. ↑
[11] Rooftop solar nearly eliminates peak demand during the day, avoiding more than a billion dollars in infrastructure spending. Sources outlined on slide. See also the Dr. Richard McCann study referenced in footnote 9. ↑
[12] Leaked 2012 Edison Electric Institute (EEI) documents obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute. Summary and links to these documents are in this article. ↑
[13] Analysis of the accounting methods behind the utilities’ false claims about rooftop solar. Charts prepared by Solar Rights Alliance using the following sources: ↑
[14] Solar Rights Alliance analysis of Cal-Access Data ↑
[15] California solar user demographics, sourced from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Solar Demographics Tool ↑ .
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