State regulators slashed solar programs that school districts rely on to cut energy bills and finance sustainability projects. A new bill could fix that.
(Canary Media) - California regulators’ hostility to rooftop solar may have hit its political limit, at least when it comes to the impact on public schools.
In the past few months, a host of bills seeking to reverse or amend California’s regulatory push against rooftop solar have faltered in the state capitol. The exception, so far, is Senate Bill 1374. The bill would amend the November California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) decision that prevents schools, farms, apartment buildings, and other types of customers from using the solar power they generate to offset their power purchases from Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, the state’s three major utilities.
In April, SB 1374 passed through the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, which is chaired by an avowed opponent of solar net metering. Last week, the bill successfully emerged from a Senate Appropriations Committee process that’s held back hundreds of bills on the grounds that the expenses they would incur conflict with Governor Gavin Newsom’s tightened state budget plan. And on Monday, it passed the Senate on a vote of 28-7.
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