Rooftop solar is increasingly becoming a standard part of home energy use in Southern California. In San Diego Gas & Electric territory, more than 350,000 residential customers are producing electricity at home, according to Energies Media. That at-home energy production is reshaping the grid.
What's happening?
Across 27 cities in two counties, SDG&E serves roughly 3.7 million people. Within that service area, residential rooftop solar has spread to more than a quarter of customers in San Diego and southern Orange County, an adoption level among the highest in the nation.
The significance goes beyond the customer count. As more households generate electricity on-site and send excess power back out, the grid is functioning less like a one-way delivery system from large plants to homes and more like a two-way network.
For many households, rooftop solar has become a practical part of everyday energy use.
Why does it matter?
For homeowners, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. If you're curious about the numbers, you can use EnergySage's free tools to get quick solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
The rise in rooftop solar can also help cut pollution by reducing reliance on dirtier energy sources. At the household level, it gives families more control over electricity costs, which is especially important as utility bills remain a major pressure point for many budgets.
For the grid, a larger share of customer-generated power means utilities must manage an energy network that is both more flexible and more complex.
What's being done?
According to SDG&E, part of its effort has been to simplify how customers connect solar systems to the grid while also performing above state standards.
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"The energy system is changing because our customers are leading that change," Scott Crider, president of SDG&E, said, per Energies Media.
"Our responsibility is to help the grid evolve with them. That means building a system that can safely integrate customer-generated energy while continuing to deliver the reliability our customers expect."
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