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Energy companies demand tax on solar power!
Three California energy companies propose a bill that will allow them to put meters on houses powered with solar power! This will allow them to place a tax on each kilwatt hour the sun provides. The purpose of this is to help foot the enormous debt that the energy companies themselves caused the state during the so-called "energy crisis."
Three California energy companies are proposing a bill that will allow them to put meters on houses powered with solar power! This will allow them to place a tax on each kilwatt hour the sun provides. The purpose of this is to help foot the enormous debt that the energy companies themselves caused the state during the so-called "energy crisis."
The following is an article publishd by Environment California, the environmental division of CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group).
California leads the nation with its commitment to clean solar energy. Thousands of individuals and businesses have been able to install solar panels because of the incentives for such projects. Incredibly, a fee is now being considered that would undo years of work to foster the growth of private solar energy projects.
California's powerful private utilities - Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric - are pressuring the California Public Utilities Commission to approve a new tax on solar energy, known as an exit fee, that would dramatically increase the cost of using solar energy for utility customers.
Please take a moment to contact the California Public Utilities Commission and Governor Davis to let them know that you oppose increasing the cost of solar energy. Follow the link below to go a web page where you can e-mail members of the commission and the governor.
The proposed tax on solar energy would give utilities the right to install meters that measure how much energy privately owned solar energy systems create and increase the cost of this solar energy for customers by up to 40 percent. If utilities get their way, they'll be able to charge individuals or businesses that create energy from their personal solar energy system anything from 2 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The utilities want to use these fees to reduce the debt California incurred from buying lots of expensive and dirty power during the energy crisis. But creating a disincentive for the public to install solar energy systems goes in the wrong direction. It is bad for our state's energy independence and bad for the environment.
Solar energy is helping to generate new jobs and tax revenues in California and is also diminishing the state's vulnerability to energy price hikes. As a result of tremendous efforts by California lawmakers and the public to support solar energy, California enjoyed 1000% growth in the number of large solar energy systems installed in the last two years. Utility-imposed exit fees would get in the way of this progress.
Individuals, businesses and government agencies that install solar systems still buy most of their power from utilities. Since electricity rates have increased to help pay off the state investment in power supplies, solar owners, like other utility customers, are already helping pay off the debt incurred during the energy crisis. In addition, customer-owned solar power provides important public benefits by delivering non-polluting electricity during peak demand periods when the dirtiest electric generators come on line to meet utility power needs. This contribution should be rewarded, not penalized.
The California Public Utilities Commission has the authority to protect California's solar customers from utility proposed exit fees. Please take a moment to contact the California Public Utilities Commission and Governor Davis to let them know you oppose unfairly increasing the cost of solar energy. Follow the link below to go a web page where you can e-mail the commissioners and the governor.
http://environmentcalifornia.org/envirocalifenergy.asp?id=162&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ [at] environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org
The following is an article publishd by Environment California, the environmental division of CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group).
California leads the nation with its commitment to clean solar energy. Thousands of individuals and businesses have been able to install solar panels because of the incentives for such projects. Incredibly, a fee is now being considered that would undo years of work to foster the growth of private solar energy projects.
California's powerful private utilities - Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric - are pressuring the California Public Utilities Commission to approve a new tax on solar energy, known as an exit fee, that would dramatically increase the cost of using solar energy for utility customers.
Please take a moment to contact the California Public Utilities Commission and Governor Davis to let them know that you oppose increasing the cost of solar energy. Follow the link below to go a web page where you can e-mail members of the commission and the governor.
The proposed tax on solar energy would give utilities the right to install meters that measure how much energy privately owned solar energy systems create and increase the cost of this solar energy for customers by up to 40 percent. If utilities get their way, they'll be able to charge individuals or businesses that create energy from their personal solar energy system anything from 2 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The utilities want to use these fees to reduce the debt California incurred from buying lots of expensive and dirty power during the energy crisis. But creating a disincentive for the public to install solar energy systems goes in the wrong direction. It is bad for our state's energy independence and bad for the environment.
Solar energy is helping to generate new jobs and tax revenues in California and is also diminishing the state's vulnerability to energy price hikes. As a result of tremendous efforts by California lawmakers and the public to support solar energy, California enjoyed 1000% growth in the number of large solar energy systems installed in the last two years. Utility-imposed exit fees would get in the way of this progress.
Individuals, businesses and government agencies that install solar systems still buy most of their power from utilities. Since electricity rates have increased to help pay off the state investment in power supplies, solar owners, like other utility customers, are already helping pay off the debt incurred during the energy crisis. In addition, customer-owned solar power provides important public benefits by delivering non-polluting electricity during peak demand periods when the dirtiest electric generators come on line to meet utility power needs. This contribution should be rewarded, not penalized.
The California Public Utilities Commission has the authority to protect California's solar customers from utility proposed exit fees. Please take a moment to contact the California Public Utilities Commission and Governor Davis to let them know you oppose unfairly increasing the cost of solar energy. Follow the link below to go a web page where you can e-mail the commissioners and the governor.
http://environmentcalifornia.org/envirocalifenergy.asp?id=162&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ [at] environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org
For more information:
http://environmentcalifornia.org/envirocal...
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Environment California is not the environmental division of CALPIRG. It is the new home of CALPIRG's environmental program. All environmental work that CALPIRG used to do is now housed in a new, separate organization focusing exclusively on environmental issues. CALPIRG continues its work as a consumer advocate.