California Utility Customers Getting All-Solar Option

摘要

California has long been a champion of solar power, and solar installations in the state have been growing at a rapid pace. Many consumers would like to use solar power but are still unable to do so. Now, one California utility is giving these customers the option to embrace solar. In January, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) announced that it had received regulatory approval to offer its customers a clean-energy option that includes up to 100 percent solar power. Referring to the program as its "green option," the utility said it is "all about giving customers the power to choose." Expected to unroll in the fourth quarter of 2015, the green option will let customers choose to receive either 50 or 100 percent of their power from solar. They will pay the incremental cost of the power they choose, at an initial rate of two to three cents per kilowatt-hour. That cost is expected to drop over time.