Deals made today get judged for years. Regulators are asking how long old solar terms should last for customers of three small utilities, and how to close out the state’s low-income solar programs. Sunrun, meanwhile, says the battery now leads its sale.
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1. A CPUC staff plan would end legacy net metering terms early for customers of three small utilities.
A CPUC staff proposal would move legacy net metering customers of three smaller utilities onto new or revised net billing tariffs. The three are Liberty Utilities in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe area, Pacific Power (PacifiCorp) and Bear Valley Electric Service (BVES). It does not cover PG&E, SCE or SDG&E customers. The Staff Proposal came out with an administrative law judge’s ruling on Sept 28, 2026, in CPUC Rulemaking 25-01-005. According to filings in that case, it would create a new Net Billing Tariff for Liberty and revise the net billing tariffs of PacifiCorp and BVES. Existing legacy customers would move over starting at their first true-up after Jan 1, 2027. Under current terms, per SEIA and CALSSA filings, BVES and PacifiCorp net billing customers have 20 years from interconnection. PacifiCorp’s legacy NEM-35 is grandfathered until March 1, 2040. Liberty’s NEM tariff has no legacy period set and is still open to new customers. The Sierra Sun reported on Nov 9 that the Solar Rights Alliance opposes the proposal. The alliance says it would break the 20-year net metering guarantee for those customers, and that the three utilities did not ask for the change. "Six times over the last decade, the State of California has told Californians that if they sign up for the state’s rooftop solar program, they can stay on the program for twenty years," alliance executive director Dave Rosenfeld told the paper. In reply comments filed Oct 16, CALSSA said the Commission should not cut short the legacy periods for PacifiCorp and BVES customers. CALSSA also wants a 20-year legacy period for Liberty customers, "as it is for every other NEM customer in the state." In comments filed Oct 9, SEIA said the Commission "must reject" the parts that end legacy terms. This is a staff proposal, not a decision. Nothing has changed.
Sources: Sierra Sun, CALSSA reply comments, Oct 16
2. The CPUC is asking how to wind down the state’s low-income solar programs, including DAC-SASH.
A ruling from Administrative Law Judge Jack Chang, filed Nov 2, 2026, in the same rulemaking, asks for comment on winding down three programs. They are Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH), Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) and the Disadvantaged Communities Single-Family Solar Homes program (DAC-SASH). Opening comments are due Dec 7, 2026, and replies are due Dec 21. DAC-SASH helps income-qualified homeowners in disadvantaged communities get rooftop solar with incentives and customer protections. GRID Alternatives is its single program administrator. Its annual budget has been $10 million since Jan 1, 2019. Under the approved timeline, all incentive reservations come before Dec 31, 2030, and installations must be done by Sept 30, 2031. Incentive payments may be finalized by Jan 1, 2032, and the ruling asks whether to require that. Greenhouse gas allowance auction money stopped funding DAC-SASH on June 30, 2026, under AB 1207. Public purpose program funds took over on July 1. The Q1 to Q2 2026 semi-annual report shows about $21 million in remaining DAC-SASH incentive funding: $3.78 million at PG&E, $11.54 million at SCE and $5.69 million at SDG&E. The ruling asks whether the utilities should stop new collections before Dec 31, 2030. Money not allocated by that date goes back to ratepayers. SOMAH runs through Dec 31, 2032 by statute. Staff estimate 70 to 120 MW of storage has been installed with SOMAH incentives, and the ruling asks whether that storage should count toward the program’s 300 MW goal. These are questions for comment. Nothing has been decided.
Source: CPUC ruling, R.25-01-005
3. Sunrun put batteries in 75% of its new deals last quarter, while subscriber additions fell.
San Francisco-based Sunrun reported third quarter 2026 results on Nov 4. All of these are national, company-wide figures, not California numbers. Its Storage Attachment Rate hit 75% in Q3, a company record, up from 70% a year earlier. CEO Mary Powell said Sunrun "has returned its direct business to growth, with installations increasing 9% year-over-year." She called it a "storage-first offering." Subscriber Additions came in at 22,957, down 24% from Q3 2025. Storage capacity installed was 374 MWh, down 9%. Solar capacity installed was 204 MW, down 15%. As of Sept 30, 2026, Sunrun says it has installed more than 284,000 storage and solar systems, with about 5.0 GWh of networked storage capacity. That fleet is the same one behind the October dispatch record we covered earlier.
Source: Sunrun Q3 2026 results
Why it matters at the door
Small-utility net metering. If you work Liberty, Pacific Power or Bear Valley territory, a current solar owner may ask if their deal is changing. The straight answer is that a staff proposal is out, the Commission hasn’t decided, and nothing has changed. Don’t tell anyone how many years they have left or what it would mean for their bill. If you’re in PG&E, SCE or SDG&E territory, this proposal doesn’t cover your homeowners.
Low-income solar. If a homeowner brings up DAC-SASH, point them to GRID Alternatives, which runs it. Don’t promise anyone they qualify, and don’t call anything free. The CPUC is only asking questions right now.
Battery first. Sunrun’s numbers are national, so don’t pass them off as California numbers. They still show how Sunrun is selling. If a homeowner asks why you lead with a battery, you can say Sunrun reported a 75% storage attachment rate company-wide last quarter. Leave savings out of it.
CA Corner
In a Nov 6 statement on the midterm elections, CALSSA cautioned against expecting quick federal action to restore and extend solar tax credits. CALSSA says Congress is more likely to broker deals on less direct items, like incentives for batteries and domestic critical mineral production, and that any bolder budget reconciliation deals would take time over 2027. In California, CALSSA says Governor-Elect Xavier Becerra has yet to define his energy agenda beyond a general focus on affordability and his "Power Hour" proposal. That proposal would give income-qualified households up to two hours of free midday electricity each day. CALSSA calls it "a good base to build upon" and says solar-charged batteries are the most powerful tool for influencing when energy is used. CALSSA has sent the governor-elect a memo.
Source: CALSSA statement, Nov 6
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The KnockGenius Team