Bill AB-1139 Net Energy Metering

Good news in Sacramento: We defeated bill AB-1139!

Ben Scurfield joins a truck rally of almost 200 other California solar business owners in Sacramento.

Thanks to some grassroots efforts, several readings and amendments against AB-1139 were heard. As a result, the bill failed to gain enough support. It received only 27 votes out of a possible 79.

AB-1139 tried to alter the way residential solar owners currently offset their energy bills. Energy providers like PG&E, SDG&E, and SoCal Edison were unsurprisingly eager supporters. Above all, they hoped to diminish the amount of revenue they lose to residential solar systems and microgrids.

For those of you thinking that this is the end of AB-1139, you would be wrong. To clarify, lobbyists for these big companies will continue wrongly telling lawmakers that solar net metering is the reason everyone’s utility bills are skyrocketing. The fact is: solar energy saves everyone money. How? By reducing the cost of long-distance power lines that spark wildfires and power outages.

AB-1139’s main author, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, moved to have the bill be eligible for reconsideration. That is to say, we could see large energy providers attempting to curb the viability of home solar once again sometime next year.