To the editor: Having put in photo voltaic in 2024 at a value of $36,500, I’m appalled that the California Public Utilities Fee is considering another “hit” to solar homeowners who wish to scale back their utility value and assist scale back the demand for fossil fuels.
The primary hits had been modifications that considerably lowered the quantity credited to prospects who return extra power to the grid. Personal utility firms are making their newest request to scale back credit within the title of equality — they are saying nonsolar prospects pay greater than their “fair proportion” for infrastructure upgrades and grid upkeep.
It seems the CPUC is extra involved in regards to the utility firms incomes earnings than motivating prospects to avoid wasting prices and assist the local weather.
What have been the results of the CPUC modifications thus far? In accordance with the trade commerce group Photo voltaic Insure, rooftop photo voltaic installations have plummeted by 80%. In accordance with the California Photo voltaic and Storage Assn., there have been greater than 17,000 layoffs within the trade and lots of photo voltaic firm bankruptcies.
The CPUC and Gov. Gavin Newsom ought to keep in mind that they serve the residents of California, not profit-making utilities.
Frank Deni, Lake Forest
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To the editor: I used to be outraged to learn in regards to the CPUC’s plan to additional reduce power credit for rooftop photo voltaic householders like me.
We went photo voltaic in 2002 — not for ourselves however to do what we might to combat local weather change that’s now accelerating even sooner than scientists predicted. We took out a small line of credit score a number of years later to increase our system.
At present, regardless of all this, my Southern California Edison invoice is about 10 occasions what it was once.
Most essential, the cost-shifting concept is an utter fantasy that’s been debunked by quite a few research. One current evaluation reveals that California’s nation-leading 17 gigawatts of rooftop photo voltaic has saved prospects about $2.3 billion on their utility payments final yr.
The CPUC should cease attacking photo voltaic prospects and disincentivizing clear power that advantages all.
Zan Dubin, Santa Monica
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To the editor: We have now to start out dwelling inside our ecological footprint, now. Which means swapping nonrenewable fossil fuels for cleaner and renewable photo voltaic power. That’s carried out through the use of all these hundreds of thousands of rooftops which might be simply sitting there anyway.
There was a contract to incentivize this vital step, and now the businesses that had been presupposed to be structured for the individuals — the utilities — are reneging on that contract.
Stop it please. The entire planet can not afford for grasping middlemen to insert themselves in the course of this plan and upend it.
Because of The Occasions and reporter Melody Petersen for bringing this to mild.
Sara Roos, Los Angeles
