Solar panel company, Sunnova Energy, chief executive John Berger believes that people should be given a choice: “if they don’t want to choose me, that should be their right; if they don’t want to choose you, that should be their right, too.”
For decades, electric utilities have had a monopoly on electricity sales. The recent rise in solar panel and battery installation has led to conflicts between these big companies and new and smaller solar businesses.
One of the biggest roof-top solar panel companies, Sunnova Energy, aims to secure an agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission to allow it to provide electricity to homes in new residential areas. “Micro-utility”, or microgrid, is illegal in most areas in the U.S., but the company says that they are using the same approach that was authorized under a California law around 20 years ago.
According to Sunnova, solar electricity costs could be 20 percent lower than the rates charged by utilities owned by companies like Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison. Approving Sunnova’s model could encourage the bigger companies to lower their rates to match Sunnova’s.
Connecting a home to the grid is said to be costly. That is why there are a number of homes that chose to install solar panels and batteries, especially now that the costs have decreased. Going off grid is said to be cheaper, especially for homes located in distant areas, or for homes where the current grid has already reached full capacity.
Several factors may cause electric bills to increase. For example, the war in Ukraine has caused surges in electricity bills globally. Going off-grid appears to be more practical, since its operational and maintenance costs are more predictable.
Notably, Sunnova’s model has encountered problems in the past, with similar models in the US and Canada ending up being absorbed by larger companies. There is also the possibility that the off-grid system could cost around three to five times more than the usual electric cost. An example of that happened in the Kirkwood Mountain Resort near Lake Tahoe.
Still, Sunnova has asked state utilities to allow their proposal. They plan to install solar panels and batteries in less than 2,000 new home developments. The utilities commission agreed to review Sunnova’s application and said public opinion would also be sought as part of the process.
