04/21/2021
What could happen if AB gets passed!😱
Assembly Bill 1139 (Gonzalez) would bring California’s rooftop solar and storage market to a
screeching halt, slowing the state’s clean energy progress while harming businesses and jobs.
The bill would:
Make going solar more expensive for every ratepayer, including those on CARE.
Eliminate NEM grandfathering for 1.0 and 2.0 customers, including schools and farms.
Introduce new $50-$86/month solar "grid access" fees.
Bottomline: The bill hurts low income and at-risk communities the most and does nothing
to create equity or diversity in the market, quite the opposite. It moves California
backward.
Committee amendments would:
Delete statutory language from 2013 ensuring “sustainable growth” of rooftop solar via
NEM.
Cause energy bills to increase for renters living in solarized buildings.
Set retroactive changes for current solar customers, including low income, schools and
farms. Still ruins the economics of early adopters. 5 years from date of service for non-
CARE (including non-residential) and 10 years for CARE.
Add high mandatory monthly fees applied only to solar users, including low-income.
Add prevailing wage for solar installs (although this is a bit misleading as the bill
would undermine the entire job-supporting market).
Eliminates the one good thing that was previously in AB 1139: funds for low-income and
at-risk communities to go solar.
Strip the current bill and replace it with a so called “no cost shift” NEM 3 that goes into
effect Feb 2022 unless PUC adopts a NEM 3 by Feb 1, 2022.
Bottom-line, we will move from “oppose unless amended” to straight up “oppose” as the bill is
now worse than before.
We need to fight against this immediately! Or else we are doomed.
