Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sgip Psps And Program Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters and program administrators clash over SGIP and PSPS mitigation; administrator says some incentives moved to general fund
Summary
A Walnut Creek resident told the Little Hoover Commission that current incentive programs do not adequately mitigate repeated PSPS and EPSS outages; a program official said SGIP was recently moved to general‑fund support and that SOMA uses cap‑and‑trade proceeds to deliver monthly bill relief for multifamily affordable housing.
Public comment at the end of the Little Hoover Commission hearing included a resident complaint about outage impacts and a program administrator’s clarification about incentive funding.
Peter Spadia, a Walnut Creek resident, described repeated outages at his home and neighborhood and said existing mitigation programs do not address reliability loss from Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) and enhanced‑circuit (EPSS) outages. “These programs are wholly inadequate to mitigate up to 12 power outages a year,” Spadia said, describing repeated summer‑through‑fall interruptions and saying SGIP‑style incentives and other programs do not substitute for reliable service to households on affected circuits.
Rocky Fernandez, senior policy director at the Center for Sustainable Energy, urged the commission to note recent changes to incentive programs. He said the Self‑Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) transitioned from ratepayer funding to general‑fund support under Assembly Bill 209 and that the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing program (SOMA) is funded from investor‑owned utility cap‑and‑trade proceeds rather than direct ratepayer charges. Fernandez said SOMA produces monthly bill reductions of roughly 39% to 61% for participating households and reported program evaluations show the program reduces costs under certain scenarios.
The public comment exchange illustrated the gap between program funding sources and the lived reliability impacts residents seek to mitigate. Spadia urged more direct attention to the needs of customers on PSPS/EPSS circuits; Fernandez urged the commission to reflect recent funding shifts in its final report.
