LADWP PV lockout is over [RE-wrenches]

[Joel Davidson]

There are some pro-solar people at LADWP. Unfortunately, there are a lot of
utility managers and employees all over the world who are
anti-customer-choice, anti-net-metering and even anti-solar.

In 1960, the Harvard Business Review published Theodore Levitt's classic
essay "Marketing Myopia" in which he wrote, "Who says the utilities have no
competition? They may be natural monopolies now, but tomorrow they may be
natural deaths. To avoid this prospect, they too will have to develop fuel
cells, solar energy and other power sources." See
http://134.48.50.238/classwork/Lysonski/Mark140/MARKETING%20MYOPIA/MARKETING%20MYOPIA.pdf

Joel Davidson
SOLutions in Solar Electricity

Graham Owen wrote:

> Wrenches,
>
> The LADWP four-month PV lockout has ended and Department personnel on
> 8/15/02 removed the locks.  Hooray!!
>
> There is a new 5 step inspection process, one of which includes making
> an appointment with a Department Electric Service Representative to
> establish where the AC disconnect will be located, this is prior to the
> system installation.  This may sound like a waste of valuable contractor
> time, but the way I see it, I am happy to be installing systems again in
> my back-yard which means less drive time, substantially lower permit
> fee’s, much less hassle with non-LA Building and Safety Departments and
> of course the higher financial incentive for my customers.  I am very
> pleased this unfortunate event has passed.
>
> Now I feel a need to quickly rant about what I perceive as what’s really
> going on in LA.
>
> Last year my company installed the first system under the Green LA Solar
> Power Program.  Numerous times in the past year I had a feeling that
> LADWP didn’t really want to achieve their publicly stated goal of
> 100,000 solar roof tops by 2005.  There have been constant glitches and
> delays, which have kept the pace of installations at a lower level than
> was achievable. There are only about 300 residential systems installed
> so far.
>
> Since deregulation of electricity in California 2.85% of ratepayers
> utility bills are diverted into a Public Benefit Trust fund for
> environmentally friendly projects, which benefit the public.  LADWP
> lobbied to get these funds under their control from the City of Los
> Angeles for the Green L.A. Program.  A predetermined amount was set
> aside for a solar energy incentive.  The problem is the wording in the
> program.  “Buydown funds not spent each year may be used for Department
> solar photovoltaic projects”. That is LADWP gets the money for their own
> use.
>
> It appears that LADWP wants to use as much of these funds for their own
> projects as possible.  I believe the reasoning behind this decision is
> that the Department will not have to credit ratepayers for solar
> generated electricity.  In effect they get the ratepayers to subsidize
> solar power for their grid without having to deduct the amount generated
> from incoming revenue.
>
> The problem with this scheme, it costs the Department about $17 a watt
> for union prevailing wage installations, compared to $9 per watt average
> non-union contractor cost.
>
> I believe the solar subsidies were initiated for environmental reasons,
> period.  More solar panels can be installed by non-union labor than can
> be installed by union labor for each block of funding.  This is
> something politicians should be able to comprehend and hopefully future
> renewable energy subsidy programs will not have loosely worded documents
> with obvious conflicts of interest.
>
> Sizable contractors, which utilize the skilled labor of union
> electricians, have a place in large commercial PV system installations
> where increased labor costs are offset by lower material costs resulting
> from bulk purchasing.  When I see the labor union interests flow over
> into the residential market I see storm clouds on the horizon.
>
> Graham Owen
> GO Solar Company
>

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