Solardaily Exclusive: A small contractor forces CPUC to blink at 150% storage rule
On August 13 at exactly 16.38 hours, Southern California Edison (SCE) pressed an e -mail on an e -mail that landed as a hammerlag in the solar industry in California. The subject was clinical: “Suspension of the paired storage 150% rule proceeds on August 15, 2025.” The reality was much stricter: within 48 hours, contractors would be rejected again by an outdated CPUC regulation that limited storage capacity up to 150% of paired solar energy.
The reaction was fast – but not from a large trade group or utility coalition. Instead, it came from a small sun company in Torrance, CA: ABC Solar Incorporated.
The rule in question
The paired storage 150% rule, adopted in 2014, limits the maximum AC output of storage systems in combination with solar sun to no more than 150% of the CEC-AC assessment of the Solar Array. Originally justified as a crash barrier against export “gaming”, it has long survived its goal. According to today’s net invoicing rate (NEM 3.0), Oversizing batteries does not produce an export advantage. Instead, larger batteries are used for resilience, failure protection and self -consumption – exactly the possibilities that California wants customers in an era of forest fires, heat waves and grid instability.
From 2020 to the present, the rule was suspended under CPUC decision. The e -mail from 4:38 pm announced that the game was over.
The little man fights back
Enter Bradley L. Bartz, president of ABC Solar. With 25 years in the industry, Bartz has built up a reputation for fighting Edison on mutual connections and calling CPUC’s Pro-Utility Bias. That night he submitted a formal request for extension on the basis of rule 8.3 of general order 96-b.
In contrast to the broad petition of Calssa submitted in June, who wants to permanently revise or eliminate the rule, the request from Bartz Lasergericht was: stop the recovery of August 16 before the projects were stranded.
Here the request has been fully submitted by ABC Solar:
The original extension request
Best Executive Director Peterson:
On the basis of rule 8.3 of General Order 96-B, ABC Solar Incorporated, a 90-day expansion of the compliance deadline for the repair of the Paced Storage 150% Rule requires respectfully under decision (D.) 20-06-017.
As is currently planned, the temporary suspension of the 150% rule on 15 August 2025, with interconnection applications submitted on or after 16 August 2025 that is necessary to meet the limit that the aggregated output capacity of paired storage does not make more than 150% of the CEC-AC assessment of the renewable facility. We ask that this effective date will be extended until November 15, 2025.
Background
In August 2020, based on D.20-06-017, the CPUC suspended the benchmark of 150% for paired storage to encourage adoption and flexibility during the Early Net Billing Tariff (NBT) transition. The suspension rules enabled customers to increase storage systems for resilience, peaks and self-consumption without being bound to the PV array size. This approach has supported the use of storage for nature fire force, drop -out reduction and electrification.
The coming recovery coincides with several market stress, including the loss of the 30% federal investment tax credit for solar and storage that has recently been eliminated under new federal policy. This creates a considerable financial barrier for customers and contractors in California.
Justification for extension
Avoiding project beach – many customers currently permitted in the design, permit and the tendering process are forced to cancel or re -design systems if the line is abruptly restored.
Customer damage prevention – The combined effect of federal ITC elimination and a sudden change of control would lead to higher costs, reduced system capacities and in some cases the total delivery of the project.
No material risk risk – According to NEM 3.0 export tariffs, there is no incentive to skip batteries for export gaming. Larger batteries are used for self -supply and resilience, to support grid stability.
Administrative – A short extension enables utilities, installers and allowing offices to update forms, portals and public materials, avoiding the confusion of customers and inconsistent application processing.
Request
For these reasons, ABC Solar asks respectful that the CPUC expands the effective date for the restoration of the paired storage 150% rule from 16 August 2025 to 15 November 2025.
This expansion will reduce the damage of the customer, enable orderly transition and maintain progress in the clean energy and resilience goals of California during a challenging policy environment.
We appreciate your consideration and are available to provide support data, Project impact case studies or to participate in related workshops.
Sincerely of you,
Bradley L. Bartz
ABC Solar Incorporated
Blinking
On August 15 at 2.59 pm Edison sent a second e -mail. This time the tone was different:
“A request to extend the suspension … was approved by the CPUC. As a result, the suspension of the paired storage is 150% rule until further notice.”
The deadline of August 16 was dead. Projects can continue. Contractors breathed a sigh of relief.
Why the CPUC folded
This was not just about one request. The CPUC is under heavy pressure. On August 7, the Supreme Court of California ordered a revision of CPUC’s cutbacks on the roof of solar-netto measurement, which indicates a deep concern that the committee has run too far to utilities at the expense of the ratepayers.
The approval of ABC Solar’s extension request was a claim for damages. It prevented stranded projects and helped the committee to prevent it from strengthening the perception that it first serves utilities and Californians for the last time.
Independent versus association
It is true: Calssa’s petition In June, the long -term Lot of the rule will determine, whereby the cap will probably be replaced by a compromise over gridupgrades and export limits. But let’s be clear – Calssa’s application did not stop the Cutoff on August 16.
That credit goes to a small contractor who submits late in the evening: ABC Solar.
The larger lesson
Policy fights in California often feel like David vs. Goliath. But David won this week. The CPUC blinked, not because of giants from the industry, but because a contractor got up and refused to make utility companies dictated the conditions of resilience.
As Bartz says: “This time the little man won.”
