net metering

HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: CLOVIS HONORE, GRID ALTERNATIVES, ON NEW SOLAR RATES AND FREE SOLAR FOR LOW-INCOME HOMES

By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Miriam Raftery and Clovis Honore

April 1, 2023 (San Diego) – In an interview with ECM aired on KNSJ, GRID Alternatives senior outreach coordinator Clovis Honore discussed the importance of signing up for solar now, before a mid-April statewide rate change kicks in. He also discussed options for free solar available to low-income homeowners in some communities.

Honore has spent much time speaking before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which gives him an informed view on the new net energy metering 3.0 rates for solar that take effect April 14, although applications submitted by that date will be grandfathered in.

GRID Alternatives provides free solar on low-income homes. The government determines where they can locate free solar and their San Diego office serves a small area around Gillespie Field in El Cajon, an area around the freeway in Lemon Grove, a coastal area around National City and Chula Vista.

When asked if solar installations are going to make sense to add after the new rates, he responds, “Absolutely. Absolutely… For our clients it’s always going to be good, because it’s free. For folks who have to invest in solar it’s going to take them longer to recoup their investment.”

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CPUC VOTES TO KEEP NET METERING FOR SOLAR

 

 

East County News Service

Photo by Jessica Walls

January 28, 2016 (San Diego) – By a 3-2 vote, the California Public Utilities Commission today voted to retain net energy metering that supporters say is crucial to support growth of rooftop solar power.  Though some changes will be made, the ruling protects compensation for consumers who produce surplus solar power for the grid.

Hailed as a victory for rooftop solar advocates, the decision has drawn praise from environmentalists but criticism from San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E).


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SIERRA CLUB PLANS RALLY TO PROTEST SDG&E OVER SOLAR ROADBLOCKS

 

 

East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego)—The San Diego Sierra Club plans a rally on October 7th at 12 noon outside Sempra Energy headquarters (488 8th Ave., San Diego) to protest the utility’s actions that environmentalists say are aimed at “crippling solar.”


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CONTROVERSIAL NET METERING MEASURE SIGNED INTO LAW BY GOVERNOR BROWN

 

By Paul Kruze

“The way everything has turned out, the energy hogs are being rewarded…Now, no matter how much you conserve energy, no matter how much you generate, the residential ratepayers are stuck with this.” – Pete Hasapopoulos, San Diego Sierra Club

October 11, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) -- Amid a chorus of cheers and jeers, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 327 reflecting the first change to electric rates and how  major power utilities account for residential rooftop solar systems.

Introduced by Fresno Democrat Party Assemblyman Henry T. Perea, the legislation directs the California Public Utilities Commission to design a new net metering program that would take effect within four years. The bill also gives the CPUC authority to require utilities to source more than 33 percent of their power from renewable sources like wind and solar. In addition, the new law will replace the electric rate restrictions adopted by  California during the state’s energy deregulation crisis in 2000.


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VICTORY FOR CONSUMERS: CPUC EXPANDS SOLAR NET METERING

 
By Miriam Raftery
 
June 25, 2012 (San Diego) – A California Public Utilities Commission has brightened the future for solar energy in California. In a unanimous decision last month, the CPUC voted to nearly double the number of homes and businesses that will be eligible to participate in the state’s net metering program. With net metering,  Net meter lets homeowners and business owners cut their utility bills by installing solar panels—and get credit for excess electricity that the send to the state’s power grid.

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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.