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Home My WebLink AboutNetMetering_LtrToPeterman_20151130Office of the City Council 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo. CA 93401-3249 805 781 7114 slOWN org Commissioner Carla Peterman California Public Utilities Commission 505 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102 November 30, 2015 Dear Commissioner Peterman, As the Mayor of San Luis Obispo, I urge your continued support for and expansion of net metering, in spite of utility proposals that if adopted could kill new rooftop solar in the state. Net metering is an important state policy facilitating the growth of rooftop solar in California. More rooftop solar creates local jobs, reduces the burden of energy costs on our economy, and builds a cleaner energy future for all Californians. The solar industry employed over 54,000 Californians in 2014, a 16 percent increase from the year before. Over the next 30 years, California schools and government entities that have already installed net metered rooftop solar will save more than $2.5 billion in electricity costs. California's rooftop solar market would not be where it is today without net metering, a simple, easily understood and fair policy that provides a one to one credit on a customer bill for locally generated power and exempts small local projects from fees designed for larger generating facilities. But now, this highly successful program is threatened by proposals from the three investor owned utilities that if adopted could essentially kill the rooftop solar business in California. Their proposals would unjustifiably add monthly fees for rooftop solar owners, cut the bill credit roughly in half, increase interconnection fees and add demand charges all of which could unfairly make rooftop solar no longer viable or understandable for most people. It is essential to preserve and expand net metering in order to build on our momentum and bring all the benefits of more solar power to even more of our communities. We urge the Commission to maintain net metering without excessive new fees, and to expand its use for example to allow virtual net metering for cities, schools and others to apply credits from solar generation projects to multiple locations. It should also provide expanded opportunities for renters and disadvantaged communities to benefit from net metering. With your continued leadership, California can keep building on our impressive solar growth, harnessing the power of the sun and Californians' ingenuity to power us to a clean energy future. Sincerely, Jan Howell Marx, Mayor of San Luis Obispo, CA cc: Governor Jerry Brown Commissioner Carla Peterman Commissioner Michael Florio Commissioner Catherine Sandoval Commissioner Liane Randolph