Solar schools win reprieve from SDG&E proposal

School and water districts in San Diego County won a reprieve Thursday from a utility proposal to shift peak electricity rates to later in the day, a shift that would have undermined some public investments in renewable energy.

The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously rejected a proposal Thursday by San Diego Gas & Electric that would shift peak pricing for customers on time-based rates from mid-day toward evening hours, saying the utility relied on outdated forecasts.

The San Francisco-based agency plans, however, to open a new, statewide exploration of shifting energy needs and pricing, as rooftop solar power increasingly offsets demands for electricity transmitted by utilities from larger power plants.

The outcome holds implications not only for big institutional energy customers, such as cities and school districts, but also small commercial customers who move to default time-based pricing later this year and, eventually, household consumers who will encounter time-based billing in 2019.

Several local school districts, from Lemon Grove to San Marcos, said that under the SDG&E proposal they would have been paid less for the renewable energy they produce at midday, and billed more for some traditional power purchases they have to make. They opposed the changes, and at the least want to be exempted for 20 years while they recoup investments in solar equipment.

SDG&E has said its proposal would provide prices that more accurately reflect its costs of providing service.

In a discussion of the issues earlier this month, members of the utilities commission cast doubt on the electricity-demand projections submitted by SDG&E and the state’s main grid operator, the California Independent System Operator. By opening a statewide examination, commission members said they expect to conduct a more thorough vetting of proposals and information.

Commissioner Michel Florio said demands on the grid clearly are shifting away from mid-day, but that more information and analysis are needed before adjusting the daily periods when electricity and utility services cost more.

“We’re really concerned about getting this right,” he said.