San Diego Needs Energy Rate Reform

2014
www.FixMyEnergyBill.com
1. SANDAG Prole Warehouse (http://prolewarehouse.sandag.org/) and utility solar installation data
2. Poverty in the San Diego Region, December 2013 (http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/
publicationid_1813_17012.pdf)
3. SDG&E data
Lower Income Families Among Most Impacted
Lower income families who cannot afford
rooftop solar are at risk of paying more than
they should for electricity. These customers do
not have the ability to buy their way into lower
tiers by purchasing solar installations and are
disproportionately shouldering a nancial burden
that has more than tripled over the last three years
with no end in sight.
As more people install rooftop solar and avoid paying
for their use of the electric grid when the sun is not
shining, lower income families will continue to pick
up the tab for wealthier customers:
San Diego zip codes where the median income
exceeds $100,000 have 2.5 times more solar
installations than zip codes with a median income
of $55,000 or less, and six times more than zip
codes with a median income of less than $50,000
1
Nearly 650,000 San Diegans live at or below
150 percent of the federal poverty line, making
a costly investment in rooftop solar difcult, if not
impossible, for a large segment of the population
2
About 39 percent of customers in tiers 3 and 4,
who pay rates nearly double those in tiers 1 and 2,
have an annual income of less than $75,000
3
Californias current four-tier energy rate system was
enacted by the state legislature as a temporary
solution to the 2001 energy crisis. The legislature
also froze rates for tiers 1 and 2, which include
most customers with rooftop solar. As a result,
these customers do not pay for transmission and
distribution, placing the burden of those costs on
customers in tiers 3 and 4. With more than 7,000
new solar systems installed in the rst half of 2014,
this rapidly growing cost shift has nearly doubled
in the past year. Hundreds of thousands of San
Diegans who do not have rooftop solar now pay
$70 million more than they should for electricity
each year.
The legislature took steps to address this issue in
2013 by passing AB 327, the Ratepayer Equity Act.
The new law directs the California Public Utilities
Commission to develop a new, more accurate rate
structure, and take steps to protect both low-income
customers and those with rooftop solar installations.
The Commission plans to nalize this new rate
structure by summer of 2015. SDG&E is joining
with families and businesses across the region to let
the Public Utilities Commission know that San Diego
needs AB 327 to be fully implemented without delay.
Estimated
Annual Cost
Shifted to
Tiers 3 and 4
Based on rates effective
May 15, 2014
Cost in Millions of Dollars
June
2011
June
2012
June
2013
June
2014
0
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
$19
$26
$40
$70
Customers in tiers 3 and 4 pay up to 75%
more than the actual cost to provide them
electrical service.
SDG&E
Customers
with Rooftop
Solar Systems
Year to date, as of
June 30, 2014
2011 2012 2013 2014
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
38,978
15,726
20,987
31,916
www.FixMyEnergyBill.com
Rooftop Solar Distribution Reects Income Disparity
Rooftop solar installations are becoming increasingly common in higher income communities such
as Carmel Valley and Poway, while communities with lower median incomes often have fewer solar
installations per capita. The map below shows just a few examples. As a result of this disparity, many
lower income customers may be paying too much on their electric bill.
Source: SANDAG Prole Warehouse and utility solar installation data
Pacific
Ocean
San Diego County
6
7
9
8
10
3
1
2
5 4
Higher Income/Solar Distribution Lower Income/Solar Distribution
U.S.
Mexico
Imperial
County
1 Zip Code: 92064 (Poway)
Median Income: $102,820
Residential Solar Installations: 1,529
2 Zip Code: 92129 (Rancho Penasquitos)
Median Income: $116,650
Residential Solar Installations: 953
3 Zip Code: 92127 (Rancho Bernardo West)
Median Income: $116,179
Residential Solar Installations: 951
4 Zip Code: 92131 (Scripps Ranch)
Median Income: $124,366
Residential Solar Installations: 949
5 Zip Code: 92130 (Carmel Valley)
Median Income: $141,272
Residential Solar Installations: 937
6 Zip Code: 91932 (Imperial Beach)
Median Income: $49,929
Residential Solar Installations: 132
7 Zip Code: 92102 (Grant Hill)
Median Income: $45,020
Residential Solar Installations: 120
8 Zip Code: 91950 (National City)
Median Income: $43,274
Residential Solar Installations: 80
9 Zip Code: 92113 (Barrio Logan/Logan Heights)
Median Income: $33,010
Residential Solar Installations: 68
10 Zip Code: 92173 (San Ysidro)
Median Income: $41,011
Residential Solar Installations: 39
Zip code outline areas are approximate