Aug 19 2010
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), a regulatory body for privately owned natural gas, electric, telecommunication, water companies, has issued a directive to the administrators of California Solar Initiative (CSI) program, such as Southern California Edison, California Center for Sustainable Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric to commence dealing out applications received for solar projects including performance based incentive (PBI) programs and non-profit and government projects that were rescheduled due to the adjournment of the order of the commission.
The California Solar Initiative (CSI) was introduced to fund the purchase of solar energy systems for existing homes as well as new business, agricultural, non-profit and government clients to encourage investing on renewable solar energy. Earlier the California Public Utilities Commission had suspended such funding for some time due to various reasons.
Sophie Akins, Best & Krieger’s partner, said that the temporary revoking of the earlier suspension order highlights the need to make an application for reservation of CSI refund funds. He added that the action of the commission clearly indicates that such funding should not be taken as persistently available and may be suspended again at any time. He compared the declining prices of solar photovoltaic panels with high level CSI funding rates and suggested that it is the most appropriate time for the public agencies to venture into solar projects.
Source: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov