As Net-Energy Metering 3.0 proceedings enter second year of deliberation, solar consumers, workers, and environmentalists are calling for answers and transparency 

SAN FRANCISCO—Solar supporters staged a live “phone-in” on the steps of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) headquarters, during Thursday’s virtual meeting, seeking answers about a rooftop solar proceeding that has largely occurred out of public view.

Over the past year, the CPUC has considered changes to “net energy metering,” the state policy that makes rooftop solar more affordable for consumers of all types by compensating them for the excess energy they produce and share with their neighbors. The CPUC’s initial proposed decision, which included a $700 annual tax on rooftop solar and an immediate gutting of the credits solar consumers receive, would have made solar unaffordable for most consumers, especially those in working and middle class neighborhoods where solar is growing fastest. 

The unpopular proposed decision was shelved after intense backlash from environmentalists, conservationists, affordable housing advocates, civil rights leaders, justice advocates, along with solar consumers, workers and small businesses who rejected it as a total giveaway to investor-owned utilities that would have boosted utility profits at the expense of all consumers, tens of thousands of jobs, and California’s clean energy future.

“For a year now, a diverse coalition of organizations, leaders, consumers, and workers have spoken up for solar, to make sure California stays a solar state,” said Dave Rosenfeld, Director of the Solar Rights Alliance. “As these proceedings enter their second year, we want the CPUC and Governor Newsom to understand just how unpopular the idea of putting utility profits over people is in California.”

Now, as the CPUC reconsiders rooftop solar changes, solar advocates are seeking transparency in the process and answers. During Thursday’s “phone-in,” hundreds of solar supporters around the state waited on-hold to make public comments during the CPUC’s virtual meeting. Outside CPUC headquarters, dozens of activists also called into the meeting while holding signs with questions for the CPUC like  “what about real energy equity”, “what about climate leadership”, and “what about getting to 100% renewable”.    

“Let’s be clear: this is a debate about energy democracy vs. energy monopoly,” said Esperanza Vielma, Executive Director, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. “Big utilities want to protect their control over energy delivery to protect their billions in profit. The environmental justice community wants energy equity where people are free to generate and distribute their own energy in ways that are cleaner and more affordable. It’s really not that hard for the CPUC to be on the right side of history.”

The CPUC phone-in action follows large scale rallies and marches with thousands of solar workers and solar advocates protesting against the proposed decision at CPUC offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Previously, solar advocates formed a human billboard at the State Capitol in Sacramento and wrote a “Solar, Not Oil” message to Governor Newson in the sand on Huntington Beach.

“Our power doesn’t come from money and political influence, it comes from our diverse coalition representing the needs and desires of environmentalists, conservationists, farmers, students, disabled communities, renters, churches, schools, labor, and small businesses across the state,” said Jessica Tovar, Energy Democracy Organizer with the Local Clean Energy Alliance. “Our grassroots coalition represents California voters from all walks of life, who overwhelmingly support the growth of local solar and oppose the push by investor-owned utilities to increase their profits by making solar more expensive for everyone.”

Recent polling shows the continued popularity of rooftop solar and net metering in California, along with the extreme unpopularity of CPUC’s proposed decision. Support for protecting rooftop solar is also reflected in endorsements by the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, Santa Cruz Sentinel, and San Luis Obispo Tribune editorial boards. 

“To ensure the transition to a clean energy economy truly benefits our communities, we need net energy metering in combination with strong energy policies that allow decision-making and ownership of energy resources to stay in the community rather than in remote corporate boardrooms,” said People Power Solar Cooperative Co-Founder and CEO Crystal Huang, “Limiting net energy metering will hurt our ability to create opportunities for our communities to share wealth and activate the transition to a regenerative energy economy.”

The Save CA Solar coalition will continue calling on the CPUC to find a better way to support solar in California, including encouraging Governor Newsom to step in with a solution that keeps solar affordable, saves solar jobs and keeps California on the path to 100% clean energy.