Two power companies in California could face millions of dollars in fines because they are dragging their feet on approving grid connections for clients with solar panels, PV Magazine reported.
Normally, when homeowners and business owners install solar panels, it's the best way to reduce their utility bills. Solar panels generate electricity from bountiful sunlight, reducing or eliminating electrical costs without generating heat-trapping pollution. EnergySage's free online tools can help you find an installer in your area that will give you the most cost-effective deal.
However, owners have a limited ability to access these benefits if they aren't able to link their solar panels to the grid and start using them normally.
In 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission set a standard that outlined utility companies' timelines for approving interconnections and system approvals for solar projects, and it specified that the utility companies needed to meet these timelines 95% of the time, per PV Magazine. However, the actual percentages reported by Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison in their quarterly reports are much lower. For three of the steps, compliance has been as low as 27%, and other steps have ranged from 53% to 81%.
"There are clear rules on how long the utilities can take for their review, but there has been zero enforcement of those rules," said Kevin Luo, policy and market development manager for the California Solar and Storage Association, per PV Magazine. "PG&E and SCE get away with suppressing what they consider to be their competition."
Not only that, but there also has been no apparent improvement since 2020.
"It is clear that if PG&E and SCE are not held accountable, they will continue to flagrantly ignore requirements that are intended to make them provide reasonable customer service," Luo said.
To combat this issue, CALSSA requested that the CPUC fine PG&E and SCE $10 million for their noncompliance.
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"Getting the utility to stop fighting customer solar is ultimately the thing that is needed in California and around the world," CALSSA Policy Director Brad Heavner said, per PV Magazine.
If you'd like to be one of the many lowering their electric bills with solar panels, check out EnergySage, including its convenient mapping tool that breaks down the cost of solar panels and available incentives by state. Homeowners who use this service can save up to $10,000. You can save even more by pairing solar panels with electric appliances such as a heat pump.
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