Retired Southern Californian couple, Ron and Sarah Hall, found out the hard way that the state frowns upon homeowners installing powerful solar panels. SoCal Edison did not allow the Halls to activate their solar system because “it exceeded state standards for energy production,” according to an NBC Los Angeles report.
Hoping to reduce their electricity costs, the Halls had Solar City install 36 panels for free, and Solar City would then make money through residential energy conservation program rebates. The panels they installed, however, would have generated too much power: 28% over the amount a homeowner is allowed to produce.
The problem? The state is concerned that homeowners who produce too much power with their solar systems could sell the excess power and therefore potentially be energy retailers, a SoCal Edison representative explained to NBC Los Angeles.
The solar panels sat inactive on the Halls’ roof for almost a year before Solar City uninstalled them at no charge, citing a design flaw as the cause of the miscalculation of the Halls’ utility needs.
Ron Hall described the whole saga as “frustrating.”
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That’s the entire idea of the special grid-tie meter they use to dump excess power into the grid for other consumers to utilize. The problem here isn’t producing too much power, it’s that the SoCal government is apparently full of idiots.
No, the problem is that, if too many people catch onto this, it will cut into BigOil’s profits and they will never allow that too happen.
Thieves always hate competition.
Our vertically-integrated “government” can be accurately described as a lie, racketeering fraud or some other crime for most issues.
The major mistake this couple made was to get a grid-tie system. You would not go into business with a known fraudster, so why would you want to sell power to them? Off grid power is the only solution.
DUH! We need a national grid-tie policy, not just for investor owned utilities but all the electrical co-ops also. They are the worst problem, everyone of them have Thierry own net-metering policy. In Idaho we 42 electrical co-ops, which with Thier policy enforced by Thierry board members. Some of them 50 years on the board. Lunch club. It’s not a states rights issue, its wrong and needs to be changed. Net-metering needs to be the law of the land.
I wonder why they didn’t just remove enough to bring them down to within the legal limits. They have a right to have solar panels on their roof, even if they produce more energy than they need. The power company is required to buy their excess, by crediting their account when their power meter revolves in reverse, which is what happens when the panels produce more than is being used.
if this were during the time of the French Revolution people wouldnt think twice about booting down these peoples doors and putting these peoples heads on pikes for there theft hands down this is what that is. there is no such thing as too much energy
I spoke to a rural man who wanted to install solar panels on his home. The local power company…a small coop…denied the request for him to install the panels as they said he would generate too much electricity..just as those poor folks in Ca were accused of. The reason cited is that he does not have a license to generate electricity!!! and that he would have to have some sort of county license issued to him. This does not happen all over the USA but it did here in Northeast Ohio.