In our recent update, “The Duck Becomes a Swan,” we noted, “The problem with solar is that there can be too much of the good stuff when no one needs it and too little or none when power is in high demand.” Utilities in California have pushed back on the state’s solar incentives.

Since April of 2023, utilities only have to pay for solar fed into the grid what it is worth in the wholesale power markets. When solar arrays are cranking at noon, that is next to nothing.

Yesterday, the New York Times published an article titled “California Has Dealt a Blow to Renewable Energy, Some Businesses Say,” where solar companies and market observers note that

“Sales of rooftop solar installations in California dropped as much as 85 percent in some months of 2023 from a year earlier.”

California has become a bear market for solar installations that interconnect with the grid, but business for YouSolar, which offers an alternative to utility power, is booming.

At the same time, California’s largest utility, PG&E, raised electricity rates on January 1, 2024. The New York Times writes that “customers of PG&E will soon pay about 45 cents per kilowatt-hour, up from about 35 cents.”

The YouSolar PowerBloc delivers the high power to be a utility replacement. People in the state can choose to accept

• Low prices paid for solar
• High and rising electricity rates
• High cost of upgrading utility service to meet the needs of EV charging and the all-electric home
• Rising occurrence and duration of outage

or reduce or eliminate their dependence on utility.

For most of our customers, the decision is easy, and they choose the independent power of a PowerBloc. As a result, our business is booming.