Human being touched the heights that they did with the help of many influential factors. Now, while all these factors played an instrumental role in our pursuit for growth, being able to use different avenues in different ways drove us further like nothing else. You see, with this luxury in bag, we were able to significantly expand our horizons over time, and when such a thing met another hugely versatile force in technology, a special reality materialized in front of our eyes. Suddenly, we were churning out benefits that nobody had even dared to imagine before. To better understand how the upgrade really appeared, we can dissect some recent events surrounding our regulatory industry. Before technology had turned up, regulatory industry was well-known to be highly rigid, but when it got left behind in the modern landscape, the sector was pretty much forced to make a bold call and get the wheels moving. Since then, these regulators have seen their roles change drastically. At times, they were necessitated to step in and ensure a more judicious use of every tech tool. However, there were also some instances where the regulators tried using technology to spell certain benefits on a holistic scale. The latter situation is seemingly dominating the moment, as California decides its stance on solar panels.
According to the reports, California is actively thinking about ending the resident perks around installing solar panels in your home. The consideration was triggered when California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) officially put-forth a proposal, which talked to slashing the solar incentives for customers of investor-owned utilities. Instead, the commission coined an idea to introduce a new monthly fee for connecting solar customers to the grid. Any money collected from the said source will land in what is expected to be a $600 million fund. This fund, in turn, will help underrepresented communites gain access to solar panels and batteries. At present, the proposal has everyone divided. Whereas some certain conservation groups and manufacturers like Tesla are pushing against it, many environmental and consumer advocates extended their support for the proposal.
“Greening the grid should not be cutting off vulnerable communities because the bills are too damn high,” says Mark Toney, executive director of the consumer advocacy group, The Utility Reform Network (TURN). “Our thing is we want the most green for the least green.”
California boasts more rooftop PV panels than any other US state. The feat was achieved on the back of its “net metering’ program. Under net metering program, California allows the residents to recoup solar panel installation costs by letting them sell their unused electricity back to the grid. The sale value would align with what a resident would pay for purchasing their electricity in the first place. However, assuming CPUC’s proposal is given a go-ahead, this sale value will likely nosedive, as the commission gears up to ascertain the real value of energy.