“California Utilities Say Solar Raises
Costs for Non-Users
Raising Caps
The growth is
also driving efforts to raise net-metering caps. California revised the way it
calculates its limit in May, effectively doubling to about 5 gigawatts the
amount of solar energy that state utilities will eventually be required
purchase.
California
utilities oppose efforts to expand net-metering programs. Solar customers, who
typically sell power to the grid when the sun is shining and use the income to
offset charges for using electricity at night or on cloudy days, “are just
using our system as a storage device,” said Jazayeri. 'They should pay
something for that service.'
So far,
regulators haven’t been sympathetic to utilities’ complaints about rooftop
solar power. The California Public Utilities Commission rejected in January San
Diego Gas’s request to impose a “network use charge” that would have added a
fee to customers with rooftop solar panels.
Easing Stress
And solar
developers say rooftop systems actually benefit the power grid by providing
power during the hottest parts of the day. That eases stress on wires and
transformers and helps utilities defer maintenance and upgrades, said Todd
Pedersen, chief executive officer of Blackstone Group LP’s Vivint Inc., which
installs residential solar.
‘We need an
honest cost-benefit analysis of adding distributed solar to the grid,' Pedersen
said in an interview in New York. 'It’s in everyone’s interest to resolve this
now because I see no signs of slowing as solar becomes cheaper than the
utilities in most states.'”
