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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2021-210RESOLUTION 2021-210 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA REGARDING NET ENERGY METERING 3.0 PROCEEDING BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION WHEREAS, Net Energy Metering (NEM) is designed to support the installation of customer-sited renewable energy generation; and WHEREAS, NEM allows customers to receive bill credits for power generated by their solar system and shared with the power grid and ultimately save money on their utility bills; and WHEREAS, NEM is what has allowed solar to become increasingly accessible to low- and moderate-income households; and WHEREAS, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has launched a formal proceeding to update the current NEM structure to be introduced in 2022 as NEM 3.0 and a number of parties have submitted their proposal for what they believe NEM 3.0 should look like; and WHEREAS, proposals call for drastic changes to NEM that would make customer-sited renewable energy more expensive, increase the amount of time it takes for customers to pay off their systems, and ground to a halt the installation of distributed solar in California; and WHEREAS, some proposals would make it impossible for customer-sited renewables to continue to grow sustainably as mandated by law as a result of high monthly fixed fees for all solar installations, and slashing credits customers receive for sharing their excess electricity with the power grid; and WHEREAS, proposals submitted to CPUC by Protect Our Communities Foundation, California Solar & Storage Association, Vote Solar, GRID Alternatives, Solar Energy Industries Association, and others not only would encourage new solar adoption but also include additional subsidies for low-income customers; and WHEREAS, California cannot meet its clean energy targets in time with utility scale solar alone and needs to triple the amount of rooftop solar, as reported by the California Energy Commission 2021 SB 100 Joint Agenc y Report Summary; and WHEREAS, the clean tech industry provides over $8.2 billion in economic benefits, as reported by Cleantech San Diego; and WHEREAS, the San Diego County rooftop solar industry provides over 9,000 jobs to the region, as reported by the Solar Foundation Solar Jobs Census; and DocuSign Envelope ID: 6483EDCD-AC6C-4E03-80C9-038C968DE443 Resolution No. 2021-210 Page No. 2 WHEREAS, protecting rooftop solar and expanding access to rooftop solar in communities of concern will help California move toward 100 percent clean energy, lessen the impacts of the climate crisis, and reduce climate injustices from dirty energy; and WHEREAS, we are in a climate crisis and need to make the transition to clean energy more accessible. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Chula Vista, California, does resolve as follows: 1. That the City Council supports protecting and expanding rooftop solar via a strong succeeding NEM tariff and expanding clean energy access by making it easier, not harder, for people to adopt rooftop solar and energy storage in order to meet California's ambitious clean energy targets and deploy solar in all communities and households, particularly those struggling to pay for electricity; and 2. That the City Council: (a) expresses its support for the items as stated in numbered paragraph 1 immediately above; and (b) urges the CPUC to: (i) strengthen NEM to expand access to all households, particularly of low-and-moderate income; (ii) expand access to other clean energy technologies that pair with solar, such as batteries; (iii) ensure that the solar installations continue to grow in order to meet State and City climate goals; and (iv) exclude provisions set forth in any proposal such as high monthly fixed fees and reducing or eliminating credits for sharing electricity with the power grid. [SIGNATURES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE] DocuSign Envelope ID: 6483EDCD-AC6C-4E03-80C9-038C968DE443 Resolution No. 2021-210 Page No. 3 Presented by Approved as to form by Eric C. Crockett Glen R. Googins Deputy City Manager/Director of Economic City Attorney Development PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista, California, this 9th day of November 2021 by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers: Cardenas, McCann, and Casillas Salas NAYS: Councilmembers: None ABSENT: Councilmembers: Galvez and Padilla Mary Casillas Salas, Mayor ATTEST: Kerry K. Bigelow, MMC, City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO ) CITY OF CHULA VISTA ) I, Kerry K. Bigelow, City Clerk of Chula Vista, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. 2021-210 was duly passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council at a regular meeting of the Chula Vista City Council held on the 9th day of November 2021. Executed this 9th day of November 2021. Kerry K. Bigelow, MMC, City Clerk DocuSign Envelope ID: 6483EDCD-AC6C-4E03-80C9-038C968DE443