Letters from our readers
To the Editor:
Many of us early adopters to solar panels put our savings into installing solar panels. We did so for both ecological reasons and because we wanted to stimulate the solar industry. That worked very well. Now the cost for solar panels has fallen a lot from what we paid years ago. The PG&E tariff at that time meant we could break even on our rooftop solar cost by lowering energy costs and the minimal reimbursements for PG&E use of our power in 25 years. These calculations are now being disrupted with PG&E’S proposed rate hikes.
Why is PG&E lobbying for tariffs on rooftop solar? They say it’s to shift costs of maintaining the grid onto solar customers. Haven’t solar customers paid by installing the solar panels, maintaining them, and providing clean electricity that benefits all of us? We have saved PG&E from building new generation plants. We need as much solar electricity as possible to limit climate change which has been amply demonstrated to be real, increasingly severe and arriving sooner than predicted. There have been horrific fires, terrible storms and new records for heat, cold, rainfall and snow across the world.
Imperial County and a couple of other counties had put tariffs on solar and solar installations plummeted. When they reversed those rate hikes solar installations resumed. Tariffs kill rooftop solar and hurt home owners.
These are certainly not times to be shutting down solar power. It’s estimated that by the end of 2020 solar provided about ¼ of California’s electricity. But California is not yet at net zero for carbon emissions. We should have more solar, not less.
The California Public Utilities Commission will make the final decision on solar rate hikes on Jan. 27. The only ways to influence them at this point is to write a letter to them (public.advisor@cpuc. ca.gov) or, better yet, call Governor Newsom who has strong influence with them. His phone number is 916-445-2841 from 9-5 Monday-friday.
Solar is vital to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and seriously slowing the effects of catastrophic climate change. Please don’t delay and call Governor Newsom today and write to the CPUC, if you can.