Special Report: California Solar Initiative Update

although America is moving along the road to Clean sustainable renewable energy, it still seems to be dragging its feet when compared to other countries:

Clean Renewable energy is a win win situation for America so why the lack lustre efforts to completley change the countrys dependence on oil:

I suspect vested interests by those in high places are the cause of these weak efforts to put America in the Renewable Energy lead where it belongs:

The longer we delay, the bigger the dividend our competitors will enjoy over us and to our cost:

At only a fraction of what it costs America to keep its troops in Iraq we could see a huge leap in renewable energy technology:-------- Something wrong somewhere.

I'm wondering what the hold up is with towns and communities who have made it illegal for contractors to use solar panels and new developments. That seems ridiculous and those laws need to be expunged immediately.

Thanks, now I get it. It is mandated for solar customers, duh. I also found the details of the different TOU rates here: http://www.pge.com/tariffs/ERS.SHTML#ERS

Hi Marla. Here is a piece from SB 1:

<i>Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 2827, the commission shall require time-variant pricing for all ratepayers with a solar energy system. The commission shall develop a time-variant tariff that creates the maximum incentive for ratepayers to install solar energy systems so that the system's peak electricity production coincides with California's peak electricity demands and that assures that ratepayers receive due value for their contribution to the purchase of solar energy systems and customers with solar energy systems continue to have an incentive to use electricity efficiently.</i>

Because the CPUC drafted the program within a very short time frame, they told the utilities to enforce existing TOU rates, which created the issue that the industry now faces.

--Stephen Lacey, Podcast Editor

About the decreased demand for residential solar. I understood the TOU impact, but Dan Thompson spoke of a mandate - what mandate? I did not understand what mandate someone slipped in to SB1? Is there a mandate that TOU be applied to all residences? Where can I find more information about this in general and also specifically for my own residence? I don't have solar (pv), but I wonder if I could save money by paying attention to TOU.

Please email me for a copy of my graphical analysis of the TOU impact, at N6ACatsignARRL.net, and contact your California legislators.
I am a California homeowner considering installing a solar photovoltaic system, wanting to help improve the environment, attracted by the appealing prospect of net metering to reduce our annual electricity expenditure to near zero. Then I discovered SB1's Time of Use metering - ONLY on solar system customers starting in 2007. This tariff imposes a severe recurring cost penalty on new solar photovoltaic systems, at the very time that citizens should be encouraged to build them. This result is very disappointing. And, the $200/year metering charge in perpetuity reminds one of Ma Bell's old telephone rental charge.
For 2006, SCE's CEO received 12.7 million dollars - how much was for this lobbying job?