Solar Corporations Will Continue to Profit at the Expense of the Poor Under the New Proposed Decision

Sacramento – Immediately after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released its new Proposed Decision to reform the state’s rooftop solar subsidy program, Net Energy Metering (NEM), the stock prices of three publicly-traded solar corporations spiked between 20-30 percent.

According to a Bloomberg story posted shortly after the PD was released,

“Shares of rooftop-solar companies surged. Sunrun Inc. rose as much as 31%. SunPower Corp. jumped as much as 21%. And Sunnova Energy International Inc. climbed as much as 29%.”

The Wall Street Journal similarly noted in a story headlined “California Home Solar-Subsidy Revisions Boost Industry Stocks

“Analysts said dropping the fee appeared to be a victory for home solar companies and the plans sent their stocks soaring, with Sunrun Inc.  closing up around 27% and Sunnova Energy International Inc. Sunpower Corp. each up about 20%.”

Affordable Clean Energy for All, a coalition of 120 organizations representing low-income families, seniors, environmental, labor, small business and community groups, expressed disappointment with the PD because it fails to make the meaningful reform necessary to ensure that all electricity customers, those with rooftop solar and those without, pay their fair share of the costs for electric grid reliability, wildfire mitigation and other state mandated programs that benefit all Californians.

“Many families and small businesses are already struggling to make ends meet and  this proceeding was an opportunity to fix the growing inequity caused by the outdated NEM program. This proposal falls far short of fixing the problem,” said coalition member Azizza Davis Goines, President and CEO of the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce.

“It is unacceptable that low-income families, disadvantaged communities and others without a voice will continue paying more than their fair share to achieve the state’s clean energy objectives,” said coalition member Reverend Frank Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Village Solutions Foundation.