Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his green energy company are coming out against a new proposal in California for what’s known as “net energy metering” that is designed to shift more of the cost of maintaining the electricity grid onto residential solar customers.
Musk dubbed the state Public Service Commission’s proposal, which would levy a new “grid participation charge” on solar customers, an “anti-environment move.” Tesla is also urging residents to make their opposition known to regulators and to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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The PUC proposes a tariff of $8 per kilowatt of installed solar per month, a change meant “to capture residential adopters’ fair share of costs to maintain the grid and fund public purpose programs.”
It would lower compensation rates to solar customers, who are presently able to sell their excess power to utilities at the prevailing retail rate.
The PUC maintains the rules need to be “modernized to incentivize customers to install storage paired with rooftop solar to help California meet its net peak shortfall and ensure grid reliability.”
Proponents also argue it makes the cost of maintaining the grid fairer, as solar customers tend to be higher earners and pay less to utilities because most of their power comes from their own panels. To that end, an “equity fund” of up to $600 million would also be created to help low-income residents access clean energy programs.
Opponents insist it will make rooftop residential solar energy uneconomical in California, which has by far the most solar installations of any state, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“Bizarre anti-environment move by govt of California,” Musk said in a tweet.
Tesla, which aside from its electric vehicle products manufactures residential solar panels, estimates the proposal could add between $50 and $80 per month to the electric bill of a home solar customer.
The proposal reflects some of the tensions between incentivizing the adoption of residential solar, a major priority of Newsom’s and other California Democrats who are hawkish on climate change and the transition to green energy, and managing the costs of those incentives.
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Newsom has said there is “some work to do” with regard to the proposal, which the PUC is scheduled to take up on Jan. 27.
