Your rooftop or mine?

The other day I shared a bit of a conspiracy theory about the possibility that TEP (or any utility) could conceivably make a grab at the rooftops of homes to place solar systems owned by the power company.

Turns out there are programs where power companies do, in fact, install utility-owned rooftop solar power systems.

There was one here in Arizona with APS (not sure the status of that program). I don’t have all the details on that particular program but from what I understand it was (is?) aimed at lower to mid income homes and would put a solar power system on the house and in exchange, the homeowner would get a 30 dollar monthly bill reduction for the next 20 years or something.

The status and details of the program don’t really matter much beyond the issue that there are utilities that are engaged in the process of using the rooftops of their customers to install utility owned systems.

According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ISLR), whoever actually owns the solar power system receives the most ‘benefit’. Makes sense to me, but that’s just a suspicion I have…

The ISLR article is actually a pretty long running one that has followed the subject for years and has had multiple updates including one in March 2023- so it is current and relevant right now…

https://ilsr.org/utilities-bid-to-own-rooftop-solar-even-as-they-oppose-it/

Turns out TEP was among the very first utilities to explore this…

Little did I know that conspiracy theory I shared a bit ago was actually much closer to our doors here in Tucson!

The bottom line here is solar technology and costs have progressed to a point where it is making sense for many Tucson home owners. The difficulty, I think, is trying to weed through all the sleazy lead generation stuff, the Sales Bros trying to hammer a sale in regardless of need, and general confusion on the programs and how they work. That’s why I started Tucson Solar Insider…

If you are looking into solar power for your home or business, you might want to check out my upcoming book Tucson Solar Insider Desk Guide for Buying Solar (click here).

Be Good!

Curtis