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☆ Two companies race to deploy robotaxis in San Francisco. The city wants them to hit the brakes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is trying to slow the expansion of robotaxis after repeated incidents in which cars without drivers stopped and idled in the middle of the street for no obvious reason, delaying bus riders and disrupting the work of firefighters. Some believe self-driving cars will never happen on a wide scale, but they’ve been gaining momentum in San Francisco. San Francisco doesn’t want robotaxis operating in the city’s downtown core, for example, or during morning and evening peak commuting times. He also provided letters in support of Cruise written by local San Francisco merchants associations, disability advocates and community groups. City officials argue that stopped robotaxis are hazards that can cause human drivers to react dangerously.

☆ California to vote on hotly debated change in rooftop solar policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Solar installers from Baker Electric place solar panels on the roof of a residential home in Scripps Ranch, San Diego, California, U.S. October 14, 2016. For decades, Californians with rooftop panels have been credited for excess power at or near the full retail electricity rate. Solar companies counter that the changes would slow new installations and threaten California's clean energy and climate change goals. California's three investor-owned utilities are Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG.N), Southern California Edison (EIX.N) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE.N). Customers installing solar with a battery, for example, would save about $136 a month under the plan, compared with $100 a month with just solar.

☆ California cuts payments to homeowners for solar panels feeding energy back to the grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday passed a proposal that will reduce compensation provided to households for the surplus electricity their rooftop solar panels contribute to the electric grid. Utilities and consumer groups have argued the incentive payments have unfairly favored wealthier consumers and harmed poor and low-income households. But solar companies and renewable advocates have said that lowering the compensation would slow solar installations and hinder the state's goals to address climate change. More than 1.5 million homes, businesses and other utility customers in California have rooftop solar panels. The utilities commission estimates that these installations can collectively produce 12 gigawatts of electricity.

☆ California Looks to Ban Diesel Trucks at Ports by 2035
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

An ambitious California plan to require trucking fleets in the state to switch from diesel to electric power faces a potential backup at charging stations. Requiring that dealers and truckers make the switch should give companies confidence to invest in charging stations, Mr. Brasil said. The trucks tend to cost two or three times as much as diesel trucks, which retail for about $150,000. State officials say they have funded 200 charging stations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks so far and that many more are being funded by private companies. Write to Paul Berger at paul.berger@wsj.comCorrections & AmplificationsThe Port of Los Angeles expects to install a small number of charging stations for electric trucks.

In a 250-page proposed decision, regulators outlined reforms to the so-called "net energy metering", a state policy that issues credits to solar energy customers for generating excess electricity and feeding it back to the grid. The proposal will not affect current home solar owners and will maintain their current compensation, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said. Shares of rooftop solar system providers, including Sunrun Inc (RUN.O), SunPower Corp (SPWR.O) and Sunnova Energy International Inc (NOVA.N), closed 20% to 27% higher on Thursday. "This has been an overhang for rooftop solar stocks that would be alleviated if passed similar to today's proposal," said Morningstar analyst Brett Castelli. "The CPUC's new proposed decision would really hurt.

☆ California's incentive proposal for rooftop solar targets low-income households
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OAKLAND, Nov 10 (Reuters) - California regulators on Thursday made a new proposal for incentivizing rooftop solar systems, a contentious matter as the state tries to expand renewable energy and respond to critics who want more equitable distribution of incentives. Shares of rooftop solar system providers, including Sunrun Inc (RUN.O), SunPower Corp (SPWR.O) and Solaredge Technologies Inc (SEDG.O), were up between 12% and 26% in afternoon trading. The new policy proposals outlined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) include an additional $900 million to support battery and solar systems, mostly for low-income customers. The proposal will not affect current home solar owners and will maintain their current compensation, the CPUC said. Reporting by Peter Henderson, Nichola Groom and Ruhi Soni; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Watchdog CPUC seeks $155 million in fines against PG&E over Zogg wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 26 (Reuters) - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) watchdog on Tuesday proposed fines of $155.4 million against shareholders of utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co (PG&E) (PCG.N) for alleged violations related a 2020 wildfire in the state. PG&E was last year charged with manslaughter and other felonies by prosecutors in Shasta County over the Zogg fire, which killed four people, destroyed 204 structures, and burned more than 56,000 acres. read moreThe proposed penalties follow an investigation by the CPUC's Safety and Enforcement Division into the fire, which found that PG&E failed "to remove trees marked for removal as a result of poor recordkeeping." PG&E said in a statement that it was reviewing the proposed order, adding that it had already have resolved civil claims with Shasta County and "reached settlements with most individual victims and their families". Reporting by Deep Vakil; editing by John Stonestreetin BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ PG&E files to separate non-nuclear generation assets into standalone unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - PG&E Corp has moved to separate its non-nuclear generation assets into a standalone unit by filing an application with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the utility said on Wednesday. The company is seeking regulatory approval to sell a stake of up to 49.9% in the new non-nuclear generation unit called Pacific Generation LLC, which would provide a source of equity financing to help PG&E fund wildfire risk mitigation and clean energy investments, it added. PG&E would maintain majority ownership in the unit. The power company has been blamed for sparking numerous wildfires, including some of the state's most deadly and destructive. The company expects to launch the minority stake sale process in first-quarter 2023 and said the deal would have no impact on PG&E customer bills.

☆ California utility targeted Asians in pot searches, lawsuit says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The data disclosure deliberately targeted Asian Americans, with resulting disproportionate penalties against those of Asian descent, the suit says. “It’s unacceptable that two public agencies would carelessly flout state law and utility customers’ privacy rights, and even more unacceptable that they targeted a specific community in doing so,” she said in a statement. Private utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric are barred from disclosing customer utility data to law enforcement without a court order under state law and California Public Utility Commission rules, he said. Public utilities like SMUD aren’t regulated by the commission, but state law bars them “from disclosing entire neighborhoods’ worth of data to law enforcement absent a court order or ongoing investigation,” Mackey said. Southern California Edison’s policy generally requires a warrant or subpoena to share information with law enforcement.

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