California's 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco will hear a legal challenge to the state’s recently adopted rooftop solar rules.
Three groups challenged the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) decision to slash the value of electricity generated from solar panels and install $15 monthly fees for residents who add solar panels to their rooftops.
The Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group, and the Protect Our Communities Foundation challenged the CPUC's adoption of the new rules.
The CPUC voted last December to approve rules that took effect in April.
It is still an open question whether the court will decide the case on the merits of the CPUC decision, said Aaron Stanton, who was on the legal team that filed the challenge.
“But the court has to hear the case in order to issue a decision one way or the other. And we’re glad that it’s decided to hear the case,” Stanton said.
The groups petitioned the CPUC in January asking them to reconsider their adoption of the new rules.
After more than four months without a reply from the CPUC, the groups filed a challenge with the 1st District Court of Appeal.
CPUC decisions are notoriously hard to challenge because the commission’s decisions cannot be directly litigated in court. Instead of suing directly, petitioners have to ask the court if their legal arguments have merit, then the court decides whether an appeal will be considered.
“I have seen these orders come out with summary denials. One sentence. The court declines to hear the case. And that’s not what happened here,” Stanton said. “The court has decided to hear the case and the court will review the commission’s Net Energy Metering decision and determine if it was lawful. Which is very exciting for us.”
KPBS contacted CPUC officials for a response to the court’s decision. They declined to make a statement and referred to their legal filing asking the court to reject the petition.
It is not clear when the court will hear oral arguments.
