California’s distributed solar policy hurts the poor. It really is that simple.
California regulators and legislators are diving back into Net Energy Metering (NEM) policies, debating how much customers with their own solar systems should receive for producing electricity. Since the 1990s, customers have been paid nearly the full retail price for electricity they export to the grid. With residential prices about double any other western state, that means California regulators offer a sweet deal to solar households. And it’s getting sweeter every year as our electricity prices rise.
As numerous EI blogs and research have pointed out, however, California retail prices are 2-3 times higher than the actual cost avoided when a rooftop system pumps kilowatts into the grid. The retail prices are so high, because they are paying for massive fixed costs, expenses that don’t decline when a household exports solar power to the grid. These include most transmission and distribution costs, wildfire mitigation (think cutting trees and bushes around power lines), compensating past victims of wildfires, paying for energy efficiency programs, subsidizing electricity for low-income customers, and making early investments in new renewable technologies to help them get a foothold.
The Most Revolutionary Act 
I wonder what would be a ‘fair’ distribution of the cost . . .
Can the poor for instance save money by using much less electricity than the well off? Maybe if you use less electricity the retail price should be very low and then go up a lot for further use!
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That’s a good proposal, Aunty. Usually the biggest energy drain is for home heating. Here in New Zealand, there are subsidies to help people insulate their homes to reduce their winter heating bills. The poorest here (as in most countries) are the elderly. When they turn off the heat to save money, they risk dying of hypthermia.
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