PG&E attacks residential solar power!
So when they’re not burning down San Bruno or being fined billions of dollars, what is Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) up to? Easy! They are working on ways to make YOU pay for it!
PG&E (and other utility companies) are busy trying to MAKE SOLAR POWER LESS ATTRACTIVE TO CONSUMERS! (Sorry to “shout.”) Yes, pretty incredible, but it is about MONEY, after all! According to SFGate.com:
On Aug. 3, PG&E and the state’s other big utility companies proposed changing the state’s financial incentives for people who install solar panels on their roofs. The utilities also proposed adding monthly charges that would apply to solar homeowners alone, an idea utility executives said would ensure that all customers pay to maintain the electricity grid. Solar companies called it a blatant attempt to strangle their industry.
At the time, PG&E calculated that its proposed changes would cut by roughly $20 the amount that homeowners could save on their monthly bills by going solar. In other words, those homeowners would still be able to lower their PG&E bills, but not as much as they can today.
On Thursday, however, the San Francisco utility refined its estimates. Some solar homeowners who take aggressive steps to cut their energy use and install batteries connected to their solar arrays would end up paying $13 more per month than they would under today’s rules.
Most solar homeowners, however, would not fare as well. Assuming they took no major steps to slash their energy use, they would save $29 less each month under PG&E’s proposed rules than they would today.
All of the proposals require approval by the California Public Utilities Commission in order to take effect, with a vote expected by the end of the year. Even if the commission approves the changes, homeowners who already had solar arrays would not face the new fees and reduced financial incentives for 20 years after the installation of their panels.
I HAD to quote it, in case the numbers are wrong. Also, it is SO stupid that I think many folks would find it hard to believe! Also, PG&E can sue SFGate.com, not my company.
In these days of climate change and searching for non-polluting energy sources, does anyone else beside me think that PG&E is “sending the wrong message?”
-Bill at
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