Tell your state legislators to get rooftop solar growing again!
“Dear Assemblymember and Senator,
Rooftop solar is one of the best ways for everyday people, schools, farms, and businesses to control their energy bills while also helping the state meet its clean energy goals.
But rooftop solar is now less available to consumers because of bad decisions by the CPUC.
Please stand up for consumers this legislative session and get rooftop solar growing again in California by supporting these bills:
- AB 1999 (Irwin)
- AB 2619 (Connolly)
- SB 1374 (Becker)
- AB 2256 (Friedman)
- SB 1190 (Laird)
- AB 2054 (Bauer-Kahan)
- SB 938 (Min)
- SB 1305 (Stern)
- AB 3118 (Wallis)
Sincerely,”
Rooftop solar is on the ropes because of bad decisions by state regulators
- Bowing to utility lobbying, the CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recklessly gutted the state’s net metering rules in 2022 and 2023.
- The result is that rooftop solar has become less affordable for everyday people, schools, and farms.
- The solar industry reports that sales are down between 77 and 85 percent and nearly 17,000 solar jobs have been lost so far.
What's more, the train wreck doesn't seem to be finished
The CPUC is now seriously considering charging all ratepayers a new Utility Tax of $30 per month or more. This tax, along with rates, will only go up over time.
A $30 per month Utility Tax will increase electricity bills on households that don’t buy much electricity from the utility. That ensnares millions of people who live in apartments, condos, and small homes—as well as solar users!
State legislators are pushing back, proposing to take charge and fix this mess
Realizing that the CPUC is out of control, some legislators have proposed bills to get rooftop solar growing again. Some of our favorite bills are:
- AB 1999 (Irwin) would stop the big Utility Tax by capping it at $10/month and prohibiting it from rising any faster than inflation.
- AB 2619 (Connolly) would ban solar taxes and require the CPUC to revise their net metering decision to align with the state’s actual clean energy goals.
- SB 1374 (Becker) would restore the right of renters, farmers, and schools to make and consume their own solar energy, a right that the state took away from these folks last year.
- AB 2256 (Friedman) would require the CPUC to include all the benefits of rooftop solar when deciding how much credit solar users get.
- SB 1190 (Laird) would prevent mobile home park owners from blocking rooftop solar on homes in their parks.
- AB 2054 (Bauer-Kahan) would ban former CPUC commissioners from being employed by the companies they regulate for ten years after their term ends.
- SB 938 (Min) would prohibit private utilities from lobbying with ratepayer funds.
- SB 1305 (Stern) would require utilities to treat their customers with both solar and batteries as a “Virtual Power Plant”, and purchase the electricity from them in the same way they would a solar farm in the desert. This has the potential to reduce the need for giant solar farms and their expensive long-distance power lines. This could save ratepayers as much as $120 billion over the next thirty years.
- AB 3118 (Wallis) would make rooftop solar the “official state energy” of California, like the poppy is our state flower.
Tell your state representatives to get rooftop solar growing again
