Public Health and Clean Air Groups Petition California Energy Commission to Evaluate Successful Clean Energy Policy

Net Metering

Californians Against Utilities Stopping Solar Energy (CAUSE) have requested that the California Energy Commission (CEC) quantify the air quality and economic benefits associated with California’s "net energy metering" policy. Net metering provides solar consumers with fair credit for the energy they put back on the grid, which utilities then sell to other customers. Monopoly utilities in California and across the United States are trying to eliminate net metering in order to halt the consumer-driven popularity of rooftop solar.

The full list of petitioners includes: American Lung Association in California, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Brightline Defense Project, California Center for Sustainable Energy, California Environmental Justice Alliance, California Solar Energy Industries Association, Coalition for Clean Air, Distributed Energy
Consumer Advocates, Environment California Research & Policy Center, Environmental Defense Fund, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc., Local Energy Aggregation Network, Dr. Luis Pacheco, Presente.org, Sierra Club, Solar Energy Industries Association, and the Vote Solar Initiative.

The groups believer that by driving the expansion of rooftop solar, net metering helps improve the quality of the air we breathe while creating jobs in our communities. 

The requested study would supplement analyses of the more limited impact of net metering on non-solar ratepayers’ electric bills, and would include the following benefits:

 Local job growth and increased employment throughout California

 Increased local economic activity that generates tax revenue for state and local governments

 Improved air quality through reduced need for fossil fuel power generation, including natural gas peaker plants

 Reduced death and disease associated with fossil fuel power generation

 Reduced greenhouse gas emissions

 Lower wholesale market prices for electricity due to decreased demand

 Improved grid security and reduced economic costs from power outages

(CAUSE)