[hightrix]

Yes, this is what the CPUC said but was a ridiculous argument in favor of raising profits moreso than helping lower income people.

The climate should take precendence over everything else. Incentives for rooftop solar should increase, incentives to help lower income people should increase, electricity record profits should not be a thing.

This is entirely due to regulatory capture, not some "good will towards poor people" that the electricity industry is pushing.

[dragonwriter]

> The climate should take precendence over everything else.

That's an argument for moving from rooftop solar subsidies into storage subsidies, because its already at the point where renewable output sometimes exceeds 100% of demand. (And the strong solar mandates will contnue to add supply without subsidy, especially—and this adds to the pile of reasons that this needs to happen—if housing construction stops being held back by zoning constraints.)

[s1artibartfast]

Net metering actually increases both costs and profits.

Power companies have a fixed margin of 10% and a captive market.

If power costs them $1, they make $0.1. If power costs them $5, they make $0.50.

Rooftop solar costs 10X what commercial solar does. Every kw of rooftop power they buy means 10kw of commercial solar isnt built.

[HDThoreaun]

It doesnt make any sense to force utilities to pay retail prices for electricity when wholesale prices are 10x lower. There are much more efficient ways to encourage renewables.

[sokoloff]

> electricity record profits should not be a thing

Unless the electricity consumption is falling faster than inflation, I'd expect the regulated-profit electric utility to be having record profits essentially all the time.