On December 13, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced its proposed NEM 3.0 policy proposal, which would impose the highest state solar tax in the U.S. and create a major setback to California’s clean energy efforts. 

If NEM 3.0 passes, it will reduce bill credits for California solar adopters, add monthly fees for residential grid access, and take away many incentives for making the switch to renewable solar energy. This will result in continued dependency on the state’s already over-burdened power grid—leaving it vulnerable to outages and blackouts; and it essentially reverses progress the state has made toward a more sustainable future. 

The good news is the proposed modification to the current California net metering program is not yet final. The floor is now open for a comment period until the commission makes a final ruling on or after January 27. 

It is time for the solar industry and those passionate about the fight against climate change to take action. On December 16, you can make your voice heard as the commission opens the floor to public comments about NEM 3.0. Below are some important details about the meeting and how to ensure your comments are heard:

• Participate and provide a public comment session at the CPUC meeting on December 16, 2021 at 10 a.m. PT. 
  • A link to RSVP to the meeting can be found here. 
  • Call the CPUC phone line at 1-800-857-1917, passcode 9899501#. 
    • Press *1 when prompted by the operator to join the queue. You will be asked to state your name and/or organization and then will not hear from the operator again until it is your turn to speak.
    • Comments may not exceed one minute. It is strongly suggested you rehearse what you plan to say ahead of the meeting.
    • Dial in 15-20 minutes before the meeting begins to increase your chances of sharing your public statement. 
  • The meeting will be streamed via www.adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc, but you must call in by phone to make a public comment.
  • If you experience difficulty calling into the public comment line, please send an email to VotingMeetingHelp@cpuc.ca.gov or call (415) 703-5263.

Sunworks, Inc. will continue to share other ways to fight this decision, so be on the lookout for new updates about how to keep NEM 3.0 from being passed.

Let’s work together and fight hard for the democratization of solar for all!