California Solar Initiative

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The California Solar Initiative (CSI) provides more than two billion dollars worth of incentives to customers for installing photovoltaic ^[1], and electricity displacing solar thermal ^[2] systems in the three California Investor-Owned Utilities service territories.

The program was authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and by the Senate Bill 1 (SB 1):

Decision (D.) 06-01-024, in collaboration with the California Energy Commission, with the goal of ensuring that 3,000 MW of new solar facilities are installed in home and business in California by 2017.
On August 21,2006, the Governor signed SB1, which directs the CPUC and the CEC to implement the CSI program consistent with specific requirements and budget limits set forth in legislation.

Responsibility for administration of the CSI Program is shared by Investor-Owned Utilities:

Pacific Gas and Electric Company – PG&E customers;
Southern California Edison Company – SCE customers;
and San Diego Regional Energy Office (SDREO) – SDG&E customers.

Residential installation starts in early 2007 fell off sharply because of the disincentives inherent in SB1, requiring time-of-use (TOU) tariffs, with the result that homeowners who install panels may find their electric bill increasing rather than decreasing. The governor and legislature moved quickly to pass AB1714 (June 2007) to delay the implementation of this rule until 2009. Assigning administrative responsibility to the for-profit utilities is viewed by many observers to be a backward step in the path toward energy independence^{[citation needed]}.