SIERRA CLUB PLANS RALLY TO PROTEST SDG&E OVER SOLAR ROADBLOCKS

East County News Service

September 26, 2015 (San Diego)—The San Diego Sierra Club plans a rally on October 7^th at 12 noon outside Sempra Energy headquarters (488 8^th Ave., San Diego) to protest the utility’s actions that environmentalists say are aimed at “crippling solar.”

The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved rate changes backed by SDG&E and other utilities that  “richly reward high energy users and are not good for solar,” according to Pete Hasapopoulos, Sierra Club organizer. “They have also thrown up roadblocks for public schools that want to tap the sun.” Next up the CPUC is looking to revamp Net Energy Metering, a state program that helped generate the solar wave, but SDG&E has sought changes that solar advocates say would discourage homeowners from going solar.

If approved, the net metering changes would let SDG&E pay only a fraction of the price for that energy. “It’s a great deal for them, and discourages investment in rooftop solar,” Hasapopoulos says.

SDG&E has not responded to ECM requests for comment on these issues.

To RSVP for the Sierra Club’s “Don’t Block the Sun” rally you can visit http://sierra.force.com/events/details?formcampaignid=70131000001hQTyAAM