State solar rules must change

Re “State revises solar incentive plan,” Nov. 11

Your article propagates the solar industry version of the “big lie” that the growth of rooftop solar in California hurts the business model of investor-owned utilities like Southern California Edison.

Reforming outdated incentives for rooftop solar is a much larger threat to solar industry giants, evidenced by their more than 20% stock price gains immediately after the new plan was announced — because the proposal’s reforms did not go far enough.

Reforming net energy metering will not affect the profitability of investorowned utilities because they don’t earn a profit based on retail electricity sales; they earn a return, authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), for building, operating and maintaining the electric grid that serves utility customers.

Without significant reform to California’s net energy metering regulations, households without rooftop solar — primarily renters, lower-income households and seniors — will continue to pay hundreds of dollars more on their electric bills each year. Amid record-setting inflation, now is not the time to continue outdated, extravagant subsidies on the shoulders of the people least able to bear them.

Pedro J. Pizarro

Rosemead The writer is president and chief executive of Edison International.

I’m mystified by the latest CPUC proposal regarding rooftop solar.

It’s a vast improvement from the previous one, but it still would have a dampening effect on getting solar onto more roofs, an important part of meeting our climate change goals.

I’m concerned by how the public might perceive this CPUC proposal. It gives one a strong reason to not trust government, especially unelected officials. It reflects poorly on the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.

The CPUC should urge utilities to make rooftop solar part of their capitalimprovement budgets. Utilities should do this rather than developing remote solar and wind farms, which require building environmentally destructive transmission lines to population centers.

They could lease these installations. This makes environmental and financial sense, and could result in massive savings for utilities on transmission line maintenance and wildfire risk. Dennis Lees

Encinitas