Send comments, call today to oppose bills targeting rooftop solar
Today is the last day to submit comments and call your legislators to support the future of rooftop solar.
Two bills targeting net metering and dismantling the associated economic incentives that support future rooftop solar growth have almost made their way through the Florida Legislature.
HB 741 has been favorably voted through three House committees and will be heard on the House floor for a full vote on March 1. Several amendments that have been added, with only one introduced by the bill sponsor, will also be up for discussion. Similar Senate companion bill SB 1024 is scheduled for a final Senate Rules committee hearing on March 1 at 1:30 p.m.
Today is the time to act and make your voice heard! See details at the end of this about contacting the Senate Rules Committee and your local House representative and telling them to vote no on HB 741 and SB 1024.
The original versions of mailers are misleading – they propagate unsubstantiated claims while favoring the interests of big utility companies over our state’s citizens.
Opponent testimony during hearings for both bills emphasizes big utility companies have not provided substantiated evidence that everyday Floridians are subsidizing people who put solar panels on their roofs. The decision to ramp down net metering reimbursement rates should instead be based on a credible cost-benefit analysis.
Big utility companies have already pursued actions to ensure all customers contribute to fixed system costs. For example, under recent rate settlement agreements, Florida Power and Light and Duke Energy Florida have enacted minimum bill amounts for all customers regardless of usage, impacting approximately 14,000 solar adopters who use limited supplemental electricity. Targeting net metering in these bills amounts to going after solar rooftop twice.
Miami Herald reporting also points out that FPL has been awarded “the right to impose another $2 billion in subsidies from non-participants to participants in its utility-scale solar program called ‘SolarTogether.'” HB 741 and companion SB 1024 seriously hinder the growth of rooftop solar while favoring utility scale-solar when we need both options to meet our energy-independence needs, support a burgeoning solar market in the state, and combat climate change.
Reach out to your legislators and ask them to vote no on HB 741 and SB 1024. While electronic comments are a good way to voice your opinions, calls are more impactful. You can visit https://p2a.co/8CoxwMS to do both. You will find a script that provides talking points when you dial your legislators. Or if you’d prefer, you can find contact information for your local house representatives at https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/findyourrepresentative, a list of Senate Rules Committee members at https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/RC, and see talking points scripted out at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pB5eYu5dzdZWU_h2BBOT90xDYLDymWUjBxx-M2G-C-Q/edit.
Visit https://p2a.co/HWmhQkD to let our legislators know that you want to see solar growth continue in Florida and that the current net metering bills would stop that progress in its tracks.
Founded in 1967, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit www.sccf.org.
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