Solar Tax Defeated!

After extensive public protest, the CPUC finally reversed course and withdrew a proposed monthly “solar tax” from their new rate structure NEM 3.0. The proposed charge would have been based simply on the size of a customer’s solar panel system, irrespective of whether the customer was even drawing power from the grid, and thus would have directly penalized investment in solar. It was rightly rejected, after strong pressure from many environmental groups, including One Atmosphere.

We ran an op-ed in La Opinion, the largest Spanish language daily in California, to share the potential negative financial impacts on residents and solar power in California if a solar tax were to be adopted.

Numerous other environmental groups also helped educate consumers about the hundreds of dollars the mistaken proposal would have cost annually for families investing in residential solar.

More work still remains to be done to advance solar power in California, but collectively defeating the “solar tax” was a step in the right direction!