Homeowners will continue to be able to sell unused power generated by their solar panels back to their utility company thanks to another recent decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
In February of this year, the CPUC voted 3-2 to preserve Net Metering. Soon after, Edison, PG&E and SDG&E appealed that decision. In late September, the CPUC denied the appeal with a 3-1 vote. The decision was yet another win for homeowners with solar.
Here is a description of Net Metering from gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov.
“Net energy metering, or “NEM”, is a special billing arrangement that provides credit to customers with solar PV systems for the full retail value of the electricity their system generates. Under NEM, the customer’s electric meter keeps track of how much electricity is consumed by the customer, and how much excess electricity is generated by the system and sent back into the electric utility grid. Over a 12-month period, the customer has to pay only for the net amount of electricity used from the utility over-and-above the amount of electricity generated by their solar system (in addition to monthly customer transmission, distribution, and meter service charges they incur).”
But net metering isn’t the only savings option when it comes to solar panels. The Solar Investment Tax Credit is a tax credit that can be claimed on your federal income taxes for 30 percent off the total cost of your PV system, after rebates and coupons have been applied. In order to qualify, you will need to have your PV system completely installed by December 2016. More details on this can be found here.
Aztec Solar has been doing solar and only solar in Sacramento for more than 36 years. Contact us for a free site visit and solar needs analysis, or simply give us a call with any questions you may have at 916.853.2700.