Dive Summary:

• The controversial video "Edison Hates Rooftop Solar" will start to run as an ad on cable TV this week in "key California districts," according to a Sierra Club press release. 
• The ad comes in the wake of a protest against "the big utility lobby’s attacks on California families that install solar panels" at Southern California Edison (SCE) headquarters. For pictures and video of the protest, click here.
• After the "Edison Hates Rooftop Solar" video first appeared on Youtube, SCE threatened legal action if it was not taken down. In response, Presente.org labeled the threat "a joke" and vowed to up the ante. This move appears to be just that.

Context: According to the activist organizations behind the campaign to "Save Rooftop Solar," the utility lobby is "targeting the Latino caucus to push through AB 327," a bill in the California legislature that would add fixed charges to SCE, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric customers.

According to the California Solar Energy Industries Association, the fixed charges minimize the incentive for residential customers to install rooftop solar panels:

"Consumers would be obligated to spend $120 per year, no matter how much is saved through efficiency and conservation or how much of their own electricity they generate via renewable energy. Instead of investing in energy efficiency or solar power to shave off high electricity costs due to high electricity demand, consumers would have a lessened desire to make changes to how much electricity they are consuming."

Sempra Energy, the parent company of SDG&E, has started its own campaign called "Fix My Energy Bill," which seeks to gain public support for AB 327. The campaign argues that "the current system is unfair" and that an "outdated rate structure" ensures "families, seniors and small businesses are penalized and pay more than their fair share."

In general, electric utilities are concerned that distributed generation resources like rooftop solar panels do not fairly compensate utilities for the necessary infrastructure and reliable electric service they provide, while typically overcompensating rooftop solar owners with net metering policies. As the rooftop solar battle heats up in California, the rest of the industry is anxiously watching to see who comes out on top.