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As you know, SCIL cares deeply about climate change. Because you can’t protect animals without protecting the planet we share with them. Many of the bills we’ve sponsored and actions we’ve led focus on the environment. That includes my recent efforts to ban glyphosate in Laguna Beach, where I serve as Vice-Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee.
Below is a letter that ran recently in local papers about a harmful “Utility Tax” that snuck through the legislature last year and that a group of lawmakers is now working to repeal.
It’s something we should all care about, as climate-conscious individuals, and as utility ratepayers.
After the letter was published, Mike Sadler, owner of local business Sadler Solar, who is also my solar provider, reached out to let me know he had just experienced the worst January in four years, and that many other small businesses like his are being forced to shut down. The reason? Rule changes by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that drastically reduced the value of electricity generated with rooftop solar.
The changes have made it virtually impossible for households to realize a decent return on investment with just a solar system installation. “Between the new CPUC rules, rising costs and higher interest rates, it does not make sense to finance these projects anymore,” Sadler said.
SCIL is working with a coalition to reverse those rule changes and restore incentives for clean energy technologies.
We are hoping to have Cailey Underhill, Advocacy and Development Director with the Solar Rights Alliance, at our Laguna Beach Environmental Sustainability Committee meeting on February 26th just after 6pm. I will confirm once the agenda is published.
California needs solar to meet its climate goals, and we all need to do our part. Our top priority today is to make sure AB 1999 passes and that the disastrous Utility Tax gets repealed.
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