Proposed Decision 20-08-020 – Reforms to Rooftop Solar Program, Long Overdue
Submitted on December 09, 2022
Dear Commissioners:
Our organizations represent millions of residential electricity customers who are disproportionally lower income and small businesses struggling to keep their doors open. We are surprised and disappointed that the new Proposed Decision (PD) in Rulemaking 20-08-020 fails to enact meaningful reform to the state’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) rooftop solar program. As drafted, the PD will forever perpetuate billions of dollars in excessive subsidies paid for by non-solar customers.
We are surprised to see this because the extensive two-year record of this proceeding, and even the new PD itself, repeatedly validates the existence of and need to correct the unfair cost burden that falls disproportionally on renters, seniors and low-income families. Yet the resulting PD fails to do that.
We are disappointed the PD locks in excessive subsidies for the existing 1.5 million solar customers forever. These subsidies are currently $4 billion annually. That means low-income Californians will continue paying hundreds of dollars extra in their energy bills in perpetuity, so rooftop solar homeowners, who tend to be wealthier Californians, can continue to receive bill discounts decades after they have paid off their solar systems.
Failure to fix this problem means:
- The state’s rooftop solar program will continue to benefit the wealthier at the expense of the poor.
- Solar energy from rooftop panels will remain the most expensive form of clean energy in California.
- The state’s rooftop solar program will continue to jeopardize the state’s electrification goals by needlessly driving up electricity bills.
There is no ambiguity as to the main beneficiaries of the PD. Immediately after it was released, the stock prices of the largest rooftop solar companies rose 20-30 percent.
The objective of this proceeding was to address the unfair cost shift inherent in today’s NEM program. Clearly, that objective was not accomplished.
We strongly encourage you to modify this PD before voting to ensure non-solar customers who are disproportionally renters, low-income families and seniors, are not forced to pay higher electricity bills to fund inflated subsidies provided to solar customers.
Sincerely,
Adriana Ayala, Executive Director
Chicana Latina Foundation
Deborah Howard, Executive Director
California Senior Advocates League
Susy Borlido, Co-Executive Director
Sustainable Works
Faith Bautista, President & CEO
National Diversity Coalition
Kimberly Fuentes, Policy & Communication Director
League of United Latin American Citizens
Mike Meador, Founder & CEO
California Greenworks
CiCi Rojas, President
The Latino Coalition
Antonio Sanchez, Political Director
IBEW Local 11
Eunice Hur Song, Esq., Executive Director
Korean American Coalition Los Angeles
Norma Quinones, Executive Director
San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps
Edward J. Rendon, Executive Director
San Gabriel Valley Civic Alliance
Jesse B. Johnson Jr., Founder, President Emeritus & Corporate Relations Chair
100 Black Men of Long Beach, Inc.
Nancy Yap, Executive Director
Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment
Adam Briones, CEO
California Community Builders
Jose Perez, President & CEO
Hispanics in Energy
Johnathan Sandville, President & CEO
African American Board Leadership Institute
Julian Canete, President & CEO
California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Christine Baginski, Director of Energy and Environmental Services
Community Action Partnership of Orange County
Val Martinez, Executive Director
Redwood Community Action Agency
John Castillo, Executive Director
Walking Shield
Susana Sngiem, Executive Director
United Cambodian Community
Isela Perez, Editor
The Latino Journal
Pilar Pinel, CEO
Embracing Latina Leadership Alliances
Matthew Hargrove, President & CEO
California Business Properties Association
Maria S. Salinas, President & CEO
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Tom Hudson, President
Placer County Taxpayer Association
Luis Portillo, President & CEO
San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
Andrew Quiñones, President/CEO
Inland Valley Volunteer Resource Center
Ortensia Lopez, Executive Director
El Concilio of San Mateo County
Jorge De Nava Jr., Executive Director
Central Valley Opportunity Center
Jennifer Bullard, Sr. Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs
Orange County Business Council
Luis H. Sanchez, CEO
Community Resource Project
Nahla Kayali, Founder & Executive Director
Access California Services
Andres Herrera, Board President
El Concilio Family Services
Tom Hudson, President
California Taxpayer Protection Committee
Victoria Hernandez, Executive Director
South Orange County Economic Coalition
Benjamin Lopez, Director Public Policy and Advocacy
Inland Empire Economic Partnership
Michael Salazar, Executive Director
Rio-Hondo Vernon Rotary Club
Robert Apodaca, Executive Director
The Two Hundred Project
Andrew Caldwell, Executive Director
COLAB of Santa Barbara County
Fabiola Ortiz, Vice President Energy Division
Community Housing Opportunities Corporation
Michael Turnipseed, Executive Director
Kern County Taxpayer Association
Robert McDonald, President & CEO
Black Chamber of Orange County
Gil Jaramillo, Executive Director
Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Nick Hill III, President & CEO
Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce
Caron Nunez, President
Lincoln Training Center
Jose Luis Solache, President
Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce
Doug Zielasko, Chamber CEO
Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce
Carla Peterman, Executive Vice President Corporate Affairs
Pacific Gas & Electric
Jason M-B Wells, Executive Director
San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce
Vicky Ventura, CEO
Antelope Valley Chambers of Commerce
Dan Skopec, Senior VP State Government Affairs & Chief Regulatory Officer
San Diego Gas & Electric
Rick Rungaitis, President & CEO
San Marcos Chamber of Commerce
Anthony Duarte, CEO
San Gabriel Valley Regional Chamber
George D. Peppas III, CEO & President
San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce
Regina Weatherspoon-Bell, DVL Project Founder & CEO
Dreamers, Visionaries & Leaders Project
Carol Rosen, Program Director
Soroptimist International of Manhattan Beach
Scott Alevy, President & CEO
Laguna Niguel Chamber of Commerce
Erin Stream, CEO
The Arc of Riverside County
Iris Gutierrez, President
High Desert Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Michael Backstrom, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs
Southern California Edison
Scott Ashton, CEO
Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
Nick Ortiz, President & CEO
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
John Bwarie, CEO
Alhambra Chamber of Commerce
Patricia Donaldson, President & CEO
Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce
Vickie McMurchie, Executive Director
Dana Point Chamber of Commerce
Iris Gutierrez, President
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