LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) November 15, 2021

Green Home Systems is urging Californians to take prompt action against utility companies that are proposing drastic changes to net metering and solar fees making owning a solar panel system possibly twice as expensive and ⅕ as valuable.

According to Save California Solar, “Big utilities like PG&E, are standing in the way of future progress. They are lobbying the CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to add a monthly solar penalty fee to ratepayer bills and drastically reduce the credit solar consumers receive for selling excess power back to the grid.

If they get their way, Californians’ access to solar power will be blocked.

This is a big utility profit grab at the expense of the public and planet that is out of step with California’s clean energy goals.”

What is net metering and why is it important?

Net metering is used when a solar panel system produces more electricity than is needed by a home or building. The owner of the system can then sell that electricity to the utility companies for another person to use. The owner of the solar system then receives a bill credit for usually around the amount they would otherwise pay for electricity. This is a huge financial benefit for solar owners.

Managing Director at Green Home Systems, Robbie Hebert, states, “It would be a travesty to make solar less financially beneficial. We as a collective have come so far in the journey to make solar affordable over decades, and to put obstacles in the way of making solar as financially beneficial as possible would be detrimental to the progression of clean energy and our environment.”

Solar energy is currently the only effective way to produce clean energy for the masses. Benefits, outside of financial, include reducing the risk of climate change, helping to maintain clean, breathable air, eliminating dangerous practices like mining for toxic fossil fuels and countless others.

What can you do?

GHS strongly urges Californians to take immediate action and sign the petition on Save California Solar. Save California Solar is trying to put an end to the attempt by utility companies to monopolize the market and make solar out of reach for many home and business owners.

The petition reads:

“Dear Governor Newsom,

(cc: CA Public Utilities Commission),

California is a solar state where power from the sun belongs to everyone. Our commitment to growing local rooftop solar is critical to meeting our ambitious clean energy goals.

Popular policies like net metering helped California reach one million solar rooftops and are growing solar in working and middle-class neighborhoods, which make up nearly half of all new solar installations.

Big utilities are standing in the way of California’s progress. They are lobbying the CA Public Utilities Commission to add a $65-90 monthly solar penalty fee to their energy bills and drastically reduce the credit solar consumers receive for selling the excess energy they produce.

This is an effort by utilities to grab more profits at the expense of the public. The utility profit grab is out of line with California’s clean energy vision. It takes us back to a time when solar was only affordable for wealthy households. It would also cost California tens of billions over time and each ratepayer $295 a year.

Californians are counting on you to support rooftop solar and stop the utility power grab. Keep California a solar state by protecting the successful policies that are driving our success.”

Save California Solar currently has nearly 83,000 supporters who have signed the petition with a goal of 100,000.

To be a part of the solution, sign here.

On behalf of the California solar industry, GHS thanks you for your support.

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