California Utilities Are Lobbying for Zero Credit Policy

Like Hawaii and Arizona have already passed, California utilities ultimate goal is a zero credit policy.  In these cases the grid will not take any power and the inverter shuts down when solar is overproducing.

The electric utility industry is the third-largest lobbying force in the U.S., after pharmaceuticals and insurance companies.

The utilitie make large campaign contributions to candidates who support their financial interests, which include rolling back net metering. One utility alone, Arizona Public Service, engaged in $130 million of lobbying and political spending from 2013 to 2018. The company recently acknowledged that in 2014 it funneled $12.9 million to political groups that helped elect two of the state’s utilities commissioners. Not surprisingly, the Arizona commission voted to end net metering in 2016.

Since 2013, net metering has also been phased out in Hawaii and more recently in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and New Hampshire. Solar permits in Hawaii were down sharply within two years of its phase-out, and the same pattern could play out in the other states.

Many of the most deadly and destructive wildfires in California have been blamed on utility equipment. The state’s largest utility has a plan that involves cutting the power in very windy days when wildfire season is in full effect. This would lead to millions of people being in the dark, which they are not prepared for.

On top of that, other investor-owned utilities have created shut-off programs themselves.

For example, PG&E came up with its plan after a transmission line broke during windy weather, which is thought to have contributed to the state’s deadliest fire “Camp Fire.” Though it stops one problem, it means California residents must find ways to deal with potential blackouts… not just for hours, but days.

Six of California’s 10 most destructive fires have occurred in the last two years. They’ve also killed more than 120 people and resulted in a shutdown of major sections of the electrical grid.