PUC approves big changes in state's electricity rate system

California regulators adopted a controversial plan Friday that will increase electricity bills for those who use the least power, heeding the requests of utility companies but angering consumer advocates and residents who say the poor can't afford the plan. The new system, approved in a 5-0 vote by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), has more modest impacts than earlier versions of the overhaul: It will raise rates for about one-third of ratepayers by about $5 a month, the PUC says, a smaller proportion and less money than was initially expected. It also potentially reduces rates for the biggest electricity customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, though that is less certain. Opponents of the PUC plan believe that people on low or fixed incomes and others who tend to use less power, including those who use alternative sources such as solar, will be unfairly hit by higher charges.

PG&E union, San Francisco duel over definition of ‘green’ energy

The backer of a proposed San Francisco ballot measure targeting the city’s municipal green-power program turned in some 17,000 signatures at the San Francisco Department of Elections Monday, setting the stage for a November ballot battle. The San Francisco Renewable Energy Truth in Advertising Act seeks to limit how the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) can describe the energy mix offered in its nascent municipal green-energy program. If passed, the SFPUC would be prohibited from labeling electricity sold through its CleanPowerSF program as “clean,” “green,” or “greenhouse-gas free” in marketing materials, unless that electricity is “derived exclusively from renewable resources” generated within California, or from the city-owned Hetch Hetchy hydropower facility. “We want to make the program is honest and clear to consumers,” said proponent Hunter Stern, business representative of IBEW 1245, a union that represents Pacific Gas & Electric Co. electrical workers. “The main purpose is simply so that San Franciscans who could be enrolled in a new energy program as soon as the end of this year will be sure to have information about the source, and greenness, of the electricity” they’re getting.

Buffett scores cheapest electricity rate with Nevada solar farms

Warren Buffett's Nevada utility has lined up what may be the cheapest electricity in the U.S., and it's from a solar farm. Berkshire Hathaway's NV Energy agreed to pay 3.87 cents a kilowatt-hour for power from a 100-megawatt project that First Solar is developing, according to a filing with regulators. That's a bargain. Last year the utility was paying 13.77 cents a kilowatt-hour for renewable energy. The rapid decline is a sign that solar energy is becoming a mainstream technology with fewer perceived risks. It's also related to the 70 percent plunge in the price of panels since 2010, and the fact that the project will be built in Nevada, the third-sunniest state.

Yieldcos unlikely to feel ITC pain, predicts Deutsche Bank

Yieldcos in the U.S. are unlikely to be severely impacted by the reduction in the investment tax credit (ITC) from 30 percent to 10 percent, according to a Deutsche Bank research note. The tax credits for solar projects are currently scheduled to fall by 20 percent at the end of 2016 with developers expected to curtail utility-scale development significantly. But Vishal Shah of Deutsche Bank is confident that many yieldcos will feel little impact. He claims many have already untangled themselves from their tax equity partner and replaced their contribution with increased debt. Further, any shortfall in the supply of U.S. projects is likely to be at least partially offset by growth in emerging markets.