No mention what the assembly bill number is. She just says they're introducing legislation. The last attempt by the republics to overturn this was in September when Kelly Seyarto tried to get AB1614 amended with a provision to repeal AB 205. It was defeated by a 30 to 8 vote mostly by democrats. Since then several dozen democrats have broken ranks as they realized the true implications of this insane law.
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California Utilities Plan All Out War On Solar, Please Read And Help
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No mention what the assembly bill number is. She just says they're introducing legislation. The last attempt by the republics to overturn this was in September when Kelly Seyarto tried to get AB1614 amended with a provision to repeal AB 205. It was defeated by a 30 to 8 vote mostly by democrats. Since then several dozen democrats have broken ranks as they realized the true implications of this insane law.
AB1999
This is my State Assemblyman. I am glad that I have many like-minded constituents because I was considering going to some of his events just to bend his ear on this issue.
This is my State Assemblyman. I am glad that I have many like-minded constituents because I was considering going to some of his events just to bend his ear on this issue.
Where did 1999 come from? Was it mentioned in the video or is there a link? I can't find it anywhere.
It came from his email, excerpted below. The link to the YouTube video was immediately below this part of the email.
Problem is for the IOUs, energy conservation (use less of a product) is probably counter to their profits. Less transmission lines, less cap expense, less fees, etc. I'm guessing this is why IOUs are looking to get away from figuring out generation completely (just charge for transmission and pass on energy sourcing to community power) or pay whatever the market rate is.
I was reading a news article about Boeing and all the problems they have been having with the 737 Max jet and thought about the IOUs. Profits over safety/anything else. Sounds like PG&E and their wildfires.
I was reading a news article about Boeing and all the problems they have been having with the 737 Max jet and thought about the IOUs. Profits over safety/anything else. Sounds like PG&E and their wildfires.
Me plus 7 of my concerned friends met with our assemblyman Steve Bennet's assistant. She gave us an hour of her time, she took notes and says she will show this all to him. Plus, this saturday there's a townhall meeting that we will all be at.
Please contact and make any meetings that you can with your representative, assembly or senate.
Please contact and make any meetings that you can with your representative, assembly or senate.
Everything below is copied from an email written by a guy that is working on these issues with me. His name is Kent.
"January 30th Stop the Energy Tax Letter,
Everyone and any of your interested friends or neighbors who have electrical service with Southern California Edison. (or PG&E or SDG&E)
A few things to ponder.
The Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) have become more aggressive in efforts to restrict or abolish customer generated energy such as residential solar.
Nothing irks a monopoly like having their captive audience go astray.
The IOUs have been facing fiscal challenges on several fronts which has resulted in us having the highest average per kWh cost in the lower 48 states.
· To make higher than average returns to shareholders.
· To provide higher than average allowed compensation to their executives. For example, Steve Powel, the CEO of SCE makes over 2.8 million per year, 10 times what our governor makes.
· Costs of meeting California’s climate goals.
· Wildfire related costs borne by electric utilities in California.
· Obligated costs to close stranded assets such as obsolete nuclear generation facilities.
· Much lower-than-average use of electricity per customer (than US average), a legacy of California’s commitment to energy efficiency, conservation, distributed (residential) solar energy and consumers commitment to reducing climate impact. (the more we save, the more $ they need)
When they looked for options to increase revenue, they determined that distributed solar was an easy target so for several years they pursued the path of changing net metering and solar compensation. But they got rebuffed.
Now they have decided to go after all ratepayers with an “income graduated fixed charge” pegged to your income.
The bottom line is that the CPUC and Utility Companies have proposed through legislative action to increase your minimum monthly fixed charge from $10.00 up to $51.00 for customers who make under $97,890 and up to $85.00 for those making over that amount. (single person, 650% of Federal Poverty Level, the table is attached)
This charge is basically a tax on your utility, in my case my bill will go from $10.00 to $81.00 per month with no increase in electrical consumption.
However, to soften the blow they propose reducing the kW cost during peak times by 25%., but because I have solar, I will see no consumptive savings, just a bigger bill.
This is coming about because of Assembly Bill 205, last year’s budget bill which had a 2-line rider inserted as Utility Code Section 739.9. There was no public discourse or discussion on this draconian money grab by the utilities.
Assemblymember Steve Bennett voted yes to pass the budget package. Now we must ask him to support legislation to remove this Utility Tax.
Yesterday Assemblymember Irwin (Thousand Oaks) announced that she has proposed legislation to remove this provision in a Video Press Release.
We need to ask our representative to support this legislation.
If you feel that you would like to voice your opinion here is your opportunity-
This Saturday Steve Bennett, (assembly Ventura, CA) is holding a public meeting in Ventura at the county museum. For event information and to register – Events | Official Website - Assemblymember Steve Bennett Representing the California Assembly District 38
Register to come, and make it heard that you do not support income based
fixed utility charges which are thinly disguised taxes.
Let’s fill the room and stand in the courtyard and get his attention.
There are a couple of reference documents attached to this email for your reading pleasure.
Speaking about elected representatives, one of our fellow EV Advocates and EV driver is running for County Supervisor in district 3 (Thousand Oaks/Camarillo). If you are in that district, please consider voting for Kim Stephenson. Her roots run deep in this community, and she cares for our environment. https://stephenson4supervisor.com "
"January 30th Stop the Energy Tax Letter,
Everyone and any of your interested friends or neighbors who have electrical service with Southern California Edison. (or PG&E or SDG&E)
A few things to ponder.
The Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) have become more aggressive in efforts to restrict or abolish customer generated energy such as residential solar.
Nothing irks a monopoly like having their captive audience go astray.
The IOUs have been facing fiscal challenges on several fronts which has resulted in us having the highest average per kWh cost in the lower 48 states.
· To make higher than average returns to shareholders.
· To provide higher than average allowed compensation to their executives. For example, Steve Powel, the CEO of SCE makes over 2.8 million per year, 10 times what our governor makes.
· Costs of meeting California’s climate goals.
· Wildfire related costs borne by electric utilities in California.
· Obligated costs to close stranded assets such as obsolete nuclear generation facilities.
· Much lower-than-average use of electricity per customer (than US average), a legacy of California’s commitment to energy efficiency, conservation, distributed (residential) solar energy and consumers commitment to reducing climate impact. (the more we save, the more $ they need)
When they looked for options to increase revenue, they determined that distributed solar was an easy target so for several years they pursued the path of changing net metering and solar compensation. But they got rebuffed.
Now they have decided to go after all ratepayers with an “income graduated fixed charge” pegged to your income.
The bottom line is that the CPUC and Utility Companies have proposed through legislative action to increase your minimum monthly fixed charge from $10.00 up to $51.00 for customers who make under $97,890 and up to $85.00 for those making over that amount. (single person, 650% of Federal Poverty Level, the table is attached)
This charge is basically a tax on your utility, in my case my bill will go from $10.00 to $81.00 per month with no increase in electrical consumption.
However, to soften the blow they propose reducing the kW cost during peak times by 25%., but because I have solar, I will see no consumptive savings, just a bigger bill.
This is coming about because of Assembly Bill 205, last year’s budget bill which had a 2-line rider inserted as Utility Code Section 739.9. There was no public discourse or discussion on this draconian money grab by the utilities.
Assemblymember Steve Bennett voted yes to pass the budget package. Now we must ask him to support legislation to remove this Utility Tax.
Yesterday Assemblymember Irwin (Thousand Oaks) announced that she has proposed legislation to remove this provision in a Video Press Release.
We need to ask our representative to support this legislation.
If you feel that you would like to voice your opinion here is your opportunity-
This Saturday Steve Bennett, (assembly Ventura, CA) is holding a public meeting in Ventura at the county museum. For event information and to register – Events | Official Website - Assemblymember Steve Bennett Representing the California Assembly District 38
Register to come, and make it heard that you do not support income based
fixed utility charges which are thinly disguised taxes.
Let’s fill the room and stand in the courtyard and get his attention.
There are a couple of reference documents attached to this email for your reading pleasure.
Speaking about elected representatives, one of our fellow EV Advocates and EV driver is running for County Supervisor in district 3 (Thousand Oaks/Camarillo). If you are in that district, please consider voting for Kim Stephenson. Her roots run deep in this community, and she cares for our environment. https://stephenson4supervisor.com "
I applaud the letter and effort. The points are about IOU's and exec's are great but pretty well known at this point. IOU's rightfully work for their shareholders to grab as much profit as possible. That's their job. OTOH, CPUC is supposed to work for the ratepayers and stop the IOU greed. They have consistently failed to do so in the past few years. I suggest more more focus on the CPUC members and the need to restructure the CPUC. In the video, some of the state reps pointedly called out the CPUC failures which is a great start.
Wow that is an amazing and eye-opening summary. Thank you so much. That should be promoted to moderators Choice as a Best Post in a category. It illustrates just how staggeringly corrupt our system can be when you allow private for profit operations to run in the public sphere without adequate restraint and where those operators essentially bribe legislatures and governors so that they continue hosing the public, the Goose that's laying all the Golden eggs. What's even more amazing is that a similar model is being tried in Florida and anyone who opposes it is thought of as socialist and opposing the free market. What a joke!
This is the economic equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. It is the antithesis of the free market and it destroys competition because actually that's the whole point. If you can make guaranteed money and where you make more money the more inefficiently you do something because of the Cost Plus algorithm for profit, who in their right mind would regard that as a fair solution to anything! It's only with the disinformation and FUDgates wide open and the b******* engines turned on max that we are brainwashed in this country into accepting this kind of crap as some kind of representative government when in fact it's just corporate plutocracy.
I think the members of the commission should be exposed for the industry shills that they are. Conflict of interest is unfortunately the MO of many of these so-called commissions, where they're actually industry insiders, shareholders, and even Executives in the industry they're supposedly regulating. The fact that we tolerate conflict of interest and that it is so deeply embedded in so many systems in the United States from third party health Insurance to the unlimited lobbying of both state and National governments, to the absolutely crazy Citizens United decision in which money is somehow free speech is part of why we don't really have much of a democracy in this country.
What's interesting from the standpoint of behavioral neuroscience where I work is the evidence that when you make money and power freely or relatively easily available in other words by creating a gravy train of incentives for folks who become elected officials what you create is a kind of magnetic field effect which pulls in sociopaths and narcissistic personality disorders who gradually corrupt and take over the system so that they continue to get money and power for minimal real effort other than just gaming the system. That's what we have unfortunately in the United States and it is part of what gave rise to our last unfortunate experience with a sociopath as country ceo. Once you have a corrupt system it pulls in more corrupt people, and then the whole thing runs away in a sense. I'm reminded of that great movie from many decades ago Network where a whole lot of people stuck their heads out the window and screamed, "I'm mad as hell and I'm just not going to take it anymore" as an expression of outrage against a corrupt system and government. We need that kind of Network moment in the United States at so many levels and across so many systems.
Many members of the PUC have been placed there by Newsom, especially the ones that are shills for the IOU's. Newsom has been silent, no comments on any of this situation. With Solar Rights Alliance, we flooded his office with thousands of phone calls, letters, and texts. We have heard zip from him.
Hmmm.....I wonder if $5.41 million dollars donated to Newsom over the past 5 years from the utilities has anything to do with this?
I think the Newsom should be exposed on the national stage as a faux progressive. In other words as someone who superficially is stating Progressive memes but who operationally is corrupt to the core. I used to think of him as a good guy but not any longer. His performance in relationship to this scandal just says volumes about who he really is. And he should be exposed
I can tell you that I know many, many people for whom he has lost their vote.
Here we go "hot off the press" this morning! AB1999.
Bill Text - AB-1999 Electricity: fixed charges.
(e) For purposes of this section and Section 739.1, the commission may, beginning January 1, 2015, authorize fixed charges that do not exceed ten dollars ($10) per residential customer account per month for customers not enrolled in the CARE program and five dollars ($5) per residential customer account per month for customers enrolled in the CARE program. Beginning January 1, 2016, the maximum allowable fixed charge may be adjusted by no more than the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the prior calendar year. This subdivision applies to any default rate schedule, at least one optional tiered rate schedule, and at least one optional time-variant rate schedule.
Bill Text - AB-1999 Electricity: fixed charges.
(e) For purposes of this section and Section 739.1, the commission may, beginning January 1, 2015, authorize fixed charges that do not exceed ten dollars ($10) per residential customer account per month for customers not enrolled in the CARE program and five dollars ($5) per residential customer account per month for customers enrolled in the CARE program. Beginning January 1, 2016, the maximum allowable fixed charge may be adjusted by no more than the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the prior calendar year. This subdivision applies to any default rate schedule, at least one optional tiered rate schedule, and at least one optional time-variant rate schedule.
The reality is that politicians survive on other people's money. My questions is how much did the solar/green/clean industry companies/groups contribute to Newsom's campaign? Frankly, I think the solar equipment companies (Enphase alone had $100M+ profit in 2023) could have easily contributed significantly more than $5.41M that would have saved them from losing $10M's in profits from NEM3.
Sadly, the USA politics is run on corporate money. Most "democracies" in the world do not allow and donations to politicians except from actual human beings and with a limit.
So he was for* it before he was against it. (*Berman voted For the original bill.)
As most of the democrats were. They had no idea what they were voting on because it was 2 line trailer bill that snuck by.
Yeah, but some state legislator had to add that "2-line rider". That person/persons should be called out. The utilities have no legal authority to do so.
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