California solar policy has been quiet, but the calendar is busy. The property-tax exclusion stops for new systems on Jan 1, 2027. PG&E’s Oct 9 to 12 shutoff put PSPS back on the porch, and a bigger watch starts tomorrow (Wednesday) and runs through Oct 17. Freedom Forever proofs of claim are due Friday, Oct 16.
If you knock the IE, OC, or San Diego, that last story may be the first one you use.
Top stories
1. The solar property-tax exclusion stops for new systems on Jan 1, 2027
California’s Section 73 exclusion keeps a new solar system from raising a home’s assessment. The Board of Equalization’s Letter To Assessors No. 2026/034, dated Sep 1, 2026, says the exclusion "will become inoperative" on January 1, 2027. Systems already excluded will remain excluded from property tax until the property changes ownership.
The governing law is SB 710 (Stats. 2025, ch. 328). AB 2389, the 2026 bill that would have extended the exclusion, was held in Assembly Appropriations on May 14, 2026, and is dead for this session.
Get the term right. This is a new construction exclusion, so the system does not add to the assessment. It does not lower the tax bill the homeowner pays today, and it is not a rebate.
The county assessor decides what "completed" means, and the safest reading is PTO. Install to PTO typically runs about 2 months, with permitting, HOA, and utility backlogs able to add time. Homeowners are already arguing online about whether passing inspection is enough or whether the system must be operational. Let the assessor settle it.
Sources: BOE LTA 2026/034 · BOE Active Solar Energy System Exclusion
2. PSPS season is live, and another watch starts tomorrow (Wednesday)
PG&E ran a Public Safety Power Shutoff from Oct 9 to Oct 12. Up to about 12,200 customers in 17 counties were in scope, including Shasta with 6,797 and Tehama with 2,351, plus Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, Butte, Alameda, Fresno, Kern, SLO, and others.
About 10,410 customers were de-energized on Sunday, Oct 11. PG&E had power fully restored by 8pm on Oct 12.
The next one is already on the board. PG&E is watching tomorrow (Wednesday), Oct 14, through Sat Oct 17, for about 30,000 customers in 22 counties, including Butte with 8,306 and SLO with 7,729. About 3,000 of those customers were also shut off last weekend.
In Southern California, SDG&E notices reported Oct 1 went to more than 35,000 backcountry customers in places including Ramona, Julian, Alpine, Valley Center, Poway, and El Cajon. Reports from the same date said SCE weighed shutoffs for about 9,990 Riverside County customers.
Shutoff scope changes by the hour. Check the utility’s PSPS page before quoting a number on a porch.
Sources: PG&E newsroom, Oct 9 to 12 event · PG&E newsroom, Oct 14 to 17 watch · KCRA, Oct 14 to 17 map · Energy News Beat, Oct 1 · SDG&E PSPS · SCE PSPS
3. Freedom Forever proofs of claim are due Friday, Oct 16
Freedom Forever, the Temecula installer that was once the number 2 residential installer in the U.S., converted its bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation on Aug 7, 2026. The Delaware case is 26-10522.
For customers with unfulfilled deposits or warranty claims, proofs of claim are due Friday, Oct 16. The court allowed finance partners Credit Human, EnFin, EverBright, GoodLeap, Participate, Project Solar, and Sunrun to step in to finish stranded installations and bring them to PTO. WARN Act class actions say about 1,600 workers were laid off at the April filing.
Sources: pv magazine USA, Sep 9 · Court claims page · Docket
At the door
Property tax. Use this with homeowners who are already shopping or sitting on a quote. Keep it plain: a system completed and excluded before Jan 1 stays out of the assessment until the home changes ownership. A system completed in 2027 can be assessed.
Do not promise that a homeowner will make the deadline or quote a per-home dollar figure. If they ask what the exclusion could be worth, give a range of roughly 1% of system cost per year and send them to the county assessor for the real number. Never frame this as California raising property taxes.
PSPS. In the affected counties, ask whether they lost power during the Oct 9 to 12 shutoff. In Butte, SLO, and the other watch counties, the Oct 14 to 17 watch may still be live when you knock. Explain that solar without a battery goes dark during a shutoff, while the battery provides backup. Use real counties and real numbers. Do not tell anyone a shutoff is coming to their street.
Freedom Forever. If you work the IE, OC, or San Diego, you may knock orphaned Freedom Forever homes. Tell the homeowner that proofs of claim are due Friday, Oct 16, and point them to the court’s claims page. Leave it there. Do not give legal advice.
The claim is separate from their loan, lease, or PPA, and they keep paying their lender. Do not trash the company. Ask every buyer who will service the system if the installer folds.
CA Corner
SCE raised residential rates Oct 1.
The average residential rate went from 34.4¢ to 34.5¢ per kWh. A typical TOU-D-4-9PM bill at 500 kWh rose $2.79 a month, or 1.5%, from $185.85 to $188.64. CARE bills rose $0.19.
The increase covers $140.1M for Woolsey Fire claims recovery bonds, $49.7M for Woolsey restoration costs, and $59.7M from the 2022 ERRA review. SCE’s GRC Phase 2 rate design, D.26-04-033, also shifts a modestly greater share of those costs to residential customers. The removal of $628M in fully recovered costs offset part of the increase.
This is a small move, so do not sell it as a spike. The honest line is that rates keep moving, wildfire costs keep landing on the bill, and part of this increase pays for a 2018 wildfire.
This applies only in SCE territory. PG&E and SDG&E had no Oct 1 change, so leave it off those doors.
Source: SCE rate advisory
Before you head out
You have three current conversations to bring to the porch. Knowing which porches is harder.
Run a free KnockGenius scan before you head out, then open the app on iPhone or Android to run your route.
Free scan: https://knockgenius.com/free-scan
Site: https://knockgenius.com
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/knockgenius/id6793432815
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.knockgenius.app