SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Running a solar rooftop company for over 20 years, Josh Woytus said the solar industry can be a rollercoaster ride, but since around May last year, things have certainly changed.

What You Need To Know

  • Solar workers and businesses say the revised solar credit system from the CPUC has hit the industry hard

  • The CPUC says the revision was necessary to make the cost of power more equal across the board

  • Solar Insure is a major solar industry insurer in the state and said many they insure sit at a high possibility of going bankrupt due to it now taking longer for people to recoup the upfront installation costs

  • State legislators have introduced a raft of new bills this year around solar, including one that would require the CPUC to revise its new solar credit system

“We have noticed the phone, you know, slowed down,” said Woytus, CEO of California Green Energy Construction.

The reason he believes is due to the change in solar credits implemented by the state utilities commission.

Starting in April 2023 new solar customers in single-family homes saw the energy pay rate they receive from selling solar power back to electric companies changed to a calculated amount instead of a flat rate, which has meant customers see a significant amount less overall in what energy companies pay them, which has increased people’s power bills.

Woytus said customers have taken notice, and the industry has taken a hit.

“We are definitely hearing layoffs and, you know, people going out of work because things have slowed down for other companies for sure,” Woytus said.

Solar Insure is a major solar industry insurer in the state and said many they insure sit at a high possibility of going bankrupt due to it now taking longer for people to recoup the upfront installation costs.

This change in solar credits for new customers has also taken effect for schools, apartments, farms and businesses as of mid-February of this year.

The CPUC and state public advocacy office said the change was needed because non-solar customers were paying too much, due to electric companies not being able to collect as much from solar customers to help pay for running costs.

Adding this new calculation makes it fair for all customers.

They also say the payback for solar is still there, it has just stretched out by several years.

Some solar and environmental groups said this is leading to solar only being affordable to the wealthy and more importantly, the state not being able to meet its climate goals, according to Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Executive Director of the California Solar and Storage Association.

“If you look at where we were in California building solar, we needed to double, if not triple that, to meet our clean energy goals,” Del Chiaro said.

State legislators have introduced a raft of new bills this year around solar, including one that would require the CPUC to revise its new solar credit system.

The key for residents at this point Woytus said is to pair solar with batteries to use as needed.

As far as his business, he said he’s been able to stagger work and being smaller helps too.

“If we were three times, five times, as big as we were and had more overhead, I could see it being kind of scary with the phones slowing down,” he said.

But with everything going electric, Woytus said he believes the industry will recover.