The following is a letter published recently from Washington State Representative Cindy Ryu (D-32) addressing citizen concerns and questions in response to campaigns voicing opposition to this legislation. Reprinted with permission.
Thank you for contacting me about HB 1912, an act relating to distributed generation.
Many of you have voiced your concern and your opposition to this bill. For this reason, I am taking the opportunity to clarify any misinformation you may have received.
This bill is about Washington State providing consumer protection to our citizens while increasing the uptake of solar energy in our state. There has been misinformation about the bills direction to end net metering. HB 1912 does not change the net metering law as it exists today. The bill does look at revising the existing solar program available to Washington state citizens in a manner that would result in increasing the clean energy options for our state. In addition, the bill allows options for individuals to find and secure financing for solar systems but does so without sacrificing consumer protection. Yes, solar is an important and growing renewable energy source for Washingtonians but achieving the individual goal of solar power should not be at the expense of consumer protection.
SolarCity has contacted many of you and provided misinformation. This syndicate is a large California Corporation that is using its massive resources against the best interests of our State. SolarCity and its syndicate of companies have become so afraid of basic consumer protection they have chosen to run a campaign of disinformation about HB 1912. I urge you to do a news search yourself on SolarCity Business Practices.
The green leaning podcast called the Energy Gang has had several sessions on solar. This one in particular shares some perspective on consumer issues around leasing.
Also if you think solar installers based in Washington State are a credible source, please check out their thoughts on a previous version of HB 1912. Here’s an additional opinion.
Thank you for contacting me on this important issue. I will always do my best to protect the interests and the values of our district’s citizens.
