Did you get blacked out last fall? California approves $830 million to help keep lights on

Responding to the controversial deliberate blackouts that left hundreds of thousands of Californians in the dark last fall, state regulators have approved $830 million worth of incentives to help residents and small businesses buy advanced batteries and other energy storage technologies to keep the lights on.

The incentive program, approved Thursday by the Public Utilities Commission, will be funded by ratepayers of PG&E Corp. and the state’s other investor-owned utilities.

Utility-funded incentives for “self-generation” have been in place since 2001 but were due to expire. A pair of laws, SB 700 in 2008 and AB 1144 in 2019, extend the program through 2024.

The laws also shift the focus of the program toward renewable energy — no more incentives for gas-fired home generators — and allocates much of the incentive money to fire-prone areas, particularly those hit with blackouts last year. The PUC’s decision Thursday finalizes the rules governing the incentives.

The revised program also puts particular emphasis on the emerging field of “energy storage” — high-tech batteries that can store power generated by solar panels and other renewable sources. Energy storage allows households to generate solar power during daylight hours and then use it after the sun goes down.

Energy storage can be costly. The systems, manufactured and sold by companies such as Tesla Inc., can cost thousands of dollars. The incentive program is designed to help “low-income and vulnerable customers and disadvantaged communities” get access to systems “that would otherwise be unavailable to them due to the relatively high cost,” a PUC administrative law judge wrote.

Also eligible for incentives are small businesses, such as corner grocery stores, that often serve as gathering spots during blackouts. The size of the incentives will vary according to the amount of energy stored.

Last fall PG&E and other utilities imposed “public safety power shutoffs” on hundreds of thousands of Californians as high winds elevated wildfire risks. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected officials ripped PG&E’s handling of the deliberate blackouts; the issue has become a sticking point in PG&E’s effort to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“It’s reacting to the climate that we’re in right now, with the extreme and elevated wildfire risk,” said Ari Vanrenen, a PG&E spokeswoman. “It’s one way customers can invest in that technology and be prepared for public safety power shutoffs in wildfire season.”

The programs are administered by the utilities themselves. PG&E customers must go to the company to apply for incentives.