Climate Politics
Solar Fee May Push Californians to Flee Grid, Sunrun Says
CEO warns it’s ‘a perilous path’ to impose connection charges as state prepares to unveil new rooftop proposal this month.
Contractors install Sunrun solar panels on a new home in Sacramento, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A potential charge to connect rooftop solar systems to California’s power grid risks spurring more state residents to want to leave it, says the head of America’s largest rooftop installer.
“That’s a perilous path,” Mary Powell, the chief executive officer of Sunrun Inc., said of the possibility that state regulators impose a monthly connection charge as California works to reform its rooftop-incentive program. “You’re just encouraging more to defect. That’s not positive.”