Emergency call to Assemblymember Steve Bennett! “YES” to CA SB #1374 – Help Schools!

This is going to a vote today and Bennett won’t publicly commit! If he’s not yours, do you know how your assemblymember is voting on this important bill?

Minimal call or email script to Assemblymembers: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Assemblymember[____] to know that I want them to support to SB-1374 – Net Energy Metering, that allows schools, farms, apartment buildings and others to use the solar power they generate, instead of having to buy all their power at market rates from greedy investor-owned utility companies. (Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric).

• State Assemblymember Steve Bennett: (CA-38): email, SAC (916) 319-2038, VTA (805) 485-4745
• Not your person? Don’t know who is? : findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? The biggest example? Schools! They often have solar panels in multiple places. Panels over parking lots, a popular choice, are often separately metered from the electricity being used by the classrooms.

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM? The energy generated by the parking lot panels is “exported” to the utility at a very low compensation rates, while the electricity for the classroom is simultaneously being purchased from the utility at a much higher price. What a deal for them and their shareholders!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TAXPAYERS?

• WINNERS: Utility companies. Again! They’ve already lost our state 17,000 jobs with their greed.
• LOSERS: Taxpayers who help support schools. “Oakland’s electricity bills have increased by $1.5 million dollars over the last year alone. That’s $1.5 million that’s not going to hire support staff for our students with disabilities or to provide services for our students experiencing homelessness or to create a new Algebra 1 class for our students to have smaller class sizes. In previous years, we used solar energy to offset these rising costs and invest the savings in programs that improve educational equity. Restoring and protecting these incentives is critical to ensuring all students receive the education they need to thrive,” said Sam Davis, Oakland Unified School District Board President.”

California is supposed to be a leader in the fight against climate change. The current system has school officials saying “Why even bother having those panels anymore?”