OPINION: Today, working families and the middle class make up nearly 50% of solar customers. Those numbers could well be in the mid-60 percentile in just a few years, if we do things right.
I lead the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water I am co-founder of the Coalition for Environmental Equity and Economics . Along with Green the Church and The Council of Mexican Federations in North America , we represent frontline environmental justice communities, California’s Latino immigrant communities and the faith-based Green movement. Advocating for these communities is our sole concern.
California’s solar revolution is the best way for California to lower the cost of people’s electricity bills. Because the sun is a free and sustainable resource, the price to harness its energy is substantially cleaner and substantially cheaper than fossil fuels. This is particularly true when energy production is on the roof of a building or home. We need rooftop solar to be even more accessible, not less.
So what are all the arguments over the “cost shift” about and who actually benefits? A closer look tells a story that has little to do with equity.. So not a progressive bunch in our book. And hardly the kind of institution that would promote equity unless, of course, the argument benefited a profit-driven monopoly like an investor-owned utility, the largest of which is PG&E.
There’s a saying that many in the Latino community use to judge human motives: “Dime con quien andas, te dire quien eres,” which means “tell me who you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are.” The association of the ALEC “cost shift” argument with the CPUC’s NEM 3.0 proposed decision is disturbing but not surprising. Every environmental justice activist in California has dealt with PG&E, SCE or SDG&E at some point.
So how do we create solar equity for the frontline communities we represent? The answer to that question is too long for this op-ed. However, I am sure one thing: the NEM 3.0 proposed decision is the exact opposite of a cost shift. It’s stealing the economic and health benefits of successful rooftop solar from the poor and middle class and giving those profits back to the monopoly IOUs.
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