Solar Group Urges Becerra to Cut Energy Bills
The California Solar & Storage Association released a policy roadmap proposing virtual power plants and community storage to lower utility costs.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Electric Vehicles
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The California Solar & Storage Association released a policy roadmap for Governor-elect Xavier Becerra aimed at lowering energy bills. The group also urged him to block further increases to residential fixed utility charges.
Why it matters
Rising utility rates are a central challenge for the incoming administration, and the roadmap offers a path to reduce pressure on household bills across California. Coordinated customer-owned batteries and vehicles could also reduce the need for costly new transmission lines and substations.
California has over 350,000 customer-sited batteries totaling nearly 4 GW of capacity, with about 7,000 new units installed monthly. The roadmap proposes community storage installations of 1 MW to 5 MW, but the cost and funding for these projects were not detailed.
The players
California Solar & Storage Association
A trade group representing solar and energy storage companies that advocates for policies supporting distributed clean energy in California.
Xavier Becerra
The Governor-elect of California and a former state attorney general and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, who takes office as the state's chief executive.
The details
The roadmap proposes virtual power plants that coordinate customer-owned batteries, electric vehicles, and flexible energy systems. It also outlines a community storage program featuring local battery installations and a proposed two-hour daily free electricity Power Hour.
Timeline
Property tax exclusion for customer-sited solar expires December 31.
Target for statewide virtual power plant programs to be operational in 2028.
Roadmap
The roadmap builds on recently passed California legislation, SB 913 and SB 905, which address customer-sited storage. It extends that policy direction by proposing how the state's growing fleet of home and fleet batteries could be coordinated to reduce grid strain.
Homeowners considering solar and batteries should note that the property tax exclusion expires December 31, which could change the cost of installation. Coordinated virtual power plants could eventually let customer-owned batteries and electric vehicles earn value by supporting the grid.
The takeaway
Customer-owned batteries and electric vehicles are becoming a larger part of California's grid, and the coming policy decisions will shape whether those assets help hold down energy bills. Monitoring deadlines like the December 31 solar tax exclusion expiry can help homeowners time their decisions.
What happens next
The property tax exclusion for customer-sited solar expires December 31, a date that will affect installation economics.
Further reading
Explore more on Electric Vehicles and how battery and vehicle policy intersects with California's energy strategy.
Source note: This article includes information reported by pv magazine USA.
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