BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — For many people who have switched to solar, the biggest motivator was saving money on electricity. Industry analysts say that an average home uses 886 kilowatt hours per month, and depending on the system you choose, solar can save homeowners nearly 90 percent or more on their electric bill.
In California, the legislature has set some aggressive climate goals, but some people are saying that a change in how rooftop solar is metered that the California Public Utilities Commission issued last week doesn't align with those goals. Many, like David Rosenfeld, Director of the Solar Rights Alliance, say the change will decrease their savings by 30 to 40 percent.
"It's a terrible change, it's foolish, it's a Christmas present to the utilities," said Rosenfeld. "It's exactly what the utilities have been asking for."
Currently, homeowners with solar panels are paid 30 cents per kilowatt hour for the energy their systems put back into the electrical grid. With the CPUC change to net energy metering set for April 2023, that rate will fall to between 5 and 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
This change will not impact homeowners who already have rooftop solar panels installed in April. Those existing solar customers will be able to maintain their current arrangement and earnings for the next 20 years.
This change in how electricity being put into the grid is metered is set to happen on April 15, 2023. Stockdale Solar CEO David Castro says the savings is worth installing solar sooner rather than later if that's an improvement homeowners are already planning to make.
"People who don't have solar, basically the impact is now," said Castro. "Otherwise, when you wait 'til after April 15th, you won't get as much savings."
According to Castro, even after the metering change and the reduction in savings, installing solar will be a protection against rising energy costs, possibly in the tens of thousands of dollars over 20 years. The metering change doesn't favor rooftop solar, but Castro says that doesn't mean it's over.
"Right now, regardless of this change, we were going to have to re-do our solar in about 20 to 25 years anyway, and who knows what NEM we are going to be in then," said Castro. "They can always go back and revert and say, 'Okay, we made a mistake and we need to go back to do that.'"
Rosenfeld says this change will be detrimental to the industry, pointing out that when he has encountered this kind of change in the past, new installations of rooftop solar have fallen by half or more. Meanwhile, utility companies are saying solar is not feasibly affordable.
"The last thing they have is to make some argument that rooftop solar is the reason why utility bills are going up," said Rosenfeld. "It's absolute nonsense. The opposite is true."
Pacific Gas and Electric has issued a statement about the CPUC's decision to change rooftop solar to net energy metering clarifying who will be subject to NEM and who will be grandfathered in at the current rates.
PG&E's statement reads, in part:
Following last week's decision, we will begin implementing the state's new rules around rooftop solar and communicating with our customers about how they will be impacted by this actions. For PG&E's hundreds of thousands of existing solar customers, the decision will have no impact on how they are compensated for excess solar energy sent back to the grid during their existing 20-year legacy period.
For Castro, this response is telling for who it doesn't address.
"The people who can't afford to go solar are being affected because their rates are being affected by people who do go solar," said Castro.
The CPUC says NEM will expand access for those low-income customers who can't currently afford to install rooftop solar, but Rosenfeld still disagrees with the change.
"The evidence seems pretty clear that this is going to be a very devastating impact on everyday people who are just now starting to get their hands on this technology and be able to make very significant changes to their household budget as a result," said Rosenfeld.
Castro says that while this will cause a big change to his business, there's still time before the April 15 cutoff for homeowners to get their rooftop solar installed and keep the current rates for the next 20 years.
"It's not that solar will be gone, it's just that if you want the most bang for your buck and the highest impact from going solar, getting in before this change is what it's going to be for you," said Castro.
