Tag Archives: SCE

Energy

Supervisor Dianne Jacob Defends Rooftop Solar

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By Roy L Hales

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Many hoped California’s net-metering war was ending two years ago, when Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 327. The state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was given to the end of this year to create a new tariff that will kick in once the state’s big three investor owned utilities (PG&E, SCE and SDG&E) reach 5% nameplate generation capacity under net metering. With the deadline approaching,  the “big three” went on the offensive. One of the California Public Utilities Commission hearings was in San Diego, on Oct. 28, 2015. That was where County Supervisor Dianne Jacob Defends Rooftop Solar.

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Energy

California Assembly Bill 2145 is dead

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By Roy L Hales

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California’s monopoly utilities failed in what many perceive as their latest attempt to squash community choice aggregates. Assemblyman Steven Bradford could not find a senator willing to sponsor his controversial bill. So it expired when the legislature’s current session ended, at 3 am on Friday night. California Assembly Bill 2145 is dead.

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Energy

California’s Solar storage scandal

SolarCity spokesperson Will Craven said that about 500 of their California customers have agreed to install batteries for power storage, but the state’s three biggest utilities have only connected 12 since 2011. He decided to go to the press after Southern California Edison (SCE) said they were going to charge $2,900 to install a meter,  whereas SolarCity has found that an adequate meter can be purchased for between $75-150. The situation has greatly improved since Craven was interviewed by Bloomberg and PV Tech.

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Energy

Boulder and the Spread of Community Choice Utilities

By Roy L Hales

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Boulder Colorado’s election results are being heralded as yet another “solar victory,” in a string that stretches back to the Louisiana and Idaho Public Utilities Commissions decisions earlier this year. The relevant questions on the ballot, however, pertain to Boulder’s attempt to join more than 1,300 American communities that have formed their own utility.

Question 310 would have required voter approval before the city issued bonds to pay for Xcel’s equipment and run its own utility, was defeated by a 2:1 margin (21,100 to 9,543).

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Energy

San Onofre: Why it happened & What MUST not happen now

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Take a very close look at the diagram above. Notice the words “Tube Burst,” “Tube Burst Criterion” and “Tube fails 95% Burst probability 1.35 year.” These are calculations as to how long the tubes in unit #2, at San Onofre Nuclear facility, would remain intact if the generator went online now. Generators are supposed to last supposed to last 30 to 40 years, not 1.35 years. This is not a normal situation, in which there is “no significant hazard.” Yet, 14 months after having to shut down because of the unprecedented wear in their generator tubes, Southern California Edison (SCE) is claiming they should be allowed to start the facility up again.

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