On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted unanimously to adopt new rules for how residential rooftop solar customers, schools, churches, farms, and businesses will be compensated for the electricity they deliver back to the grid. Pressure from corporate utilities resulted in a proposal that will slash the rate paid to these solar energy providers by about 75 percent.
The new rules threaten to slow the growth of clean energy in the state just as more middle- and lower-income Californians are adopting rooftop solar. However, this new policy will apply only to those who seek to install solar power at their homes after April 2023, and it won’t impact existing customers. And there’s no fixed monthly charge — or “solar tax” — but there is a fixed monthly fee of about $15.
Thanks to the thousands of people who spoke up to demand equitable clean energy policies.