The CA State Senate: Stop The Utility Attack On Solar Producers

Act Now - SDG&E Seeks To Destroy Solar Industry

Greetings,

Please protect our solar investments, Support SB 1537 and SB 1165

To Whom It May Concern:

As a concerned citizen, I am writing to you today regarding San Diego Gas & Electric's recent filing to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), to request that you take immediate action to permanently protect the solar power producers of the region and oppose SDG&E's attack on solar producers, the solar industry, and our growing renewable economy. On October 3, 2011, SDG&E requested to change current electricity rate structures which would drastically change the economics of going solar. The CPUC already ruled that one component of their rate case, the "network use charge" runs contrary to legislative intent. While this is good news, many issues need to be addressed. We need to protect net metering by making certain the utilities cannot unfairly target solar producers by disproportionately increasing their electricity rates by percentages that are greater than rate increases to everyone else.. Changes like this destroy the economics and financial security of going solar.

In SDG&E’s filing they proposed to increases certain charges paid by solar producers by over six hundred percent (600%) while only increasing the same charge to non-solar producers by fifty-two (52%). The filing by SDG&E would disproportionately increase costs to solar producers when compared to non-solar producers. In recent years, many entities have gone solar using financing mechanisms which amortize the cost of their investments over a period of as much as 25 years. The savings these entities realize on their electricity bills often times just barely offset the cost of the financing. By introducing drastic rate hikes on solar producers such as those contemplated by SDG&E, many times these entities’ investments will go upside down resulting in a solar producer having a total monthly cost greater than those who don’t have solar. Among the largest investors in solar technology in the State of California are school districts, water districts, and local governments. Drastic electricity rate fluctuations have the potential to derail this State’s renewable energy goals.

As of April 4th, 2012, there were over 110,000 solar projects totaling over 1,164 megawatts of solar capacity in California. This much solar capacity represents over $7,000,000,000.00 (seven billion dollars) in public and private investment in solar photovoltaic technology. Entities that invested in solar did so in response to the State’s policy objectives and with the expectation that their investments would have a secure investment horizon with utility rate structures that would remain relatively stable. Eligible customer-generators rely upon stable tariff rates and unstable rates for electrical service have the potential to defeat the state’s goal of encouraging continued private investments in renewable energy resources

Every commercial, municipal and government entity who has invested in solar in SDG&E's territory will be adversely impacted by the new rate structure and since some of the biggest investors in solar power are the cities, schools and water districts, every ratepayer, whether they have solar or not, will suffer. We will likely see decreased services from cities who will struggle to balance their budgets, increased class sizes for our children because school districts in the region will see a combined increase in electric bills of over $1 million dollars per year, and increased water fees because water districts' investments in solar will go upside down.

SDG&E's filing, by design, kills the value proposition for not only those larger entities who have gone solar but those who were considering going solar in the future. As a result, the renewable energy goals of the State will not likely be achieved and thousands of people in the solar industry will have their jobs put at risk. Last year alone, the solar industry in California employed nearly 30,000 people and grew by 69%. Most of the people employed in this growing industry come from working class families and neighborhoods. With this unwarranted rate hike, many of those jobs could be lost because if SDG&E succeeds in pushing this through, so will SCE and PG&E. Hasn't the working class suffered enough at the hands of big business?


For all the aforementioned reasons, I ask that you support two bills; one that will prevent utilities from unfairly targeting solar producers, SB1537 by Senator Kehoe and SB1165 by Senator Wright that will provide schools the funds they need to legally protect their investments at the CPUC if placed under attack by the utilities.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,­

[Your name]