Electric Companies Impede Solar Progress
I often look at the number of companies doing business in San Diego and Orange County. There are currently 52 Companies who have requested reservations with the CEC in San Diego County and Orange County in 2008.
Forty-Five of these 52 companies have done 9 or fewer solar jobs this year. This leaves 7 companies that have done 10 or more installations. I believe a lot of companies think the solar market is going to be easy, jump in, and then discover the complexity of working with the permitting agencies and the utilities.
A case in point.
The documentation for a single residential solar installation can be broken down as follows:
Reservation request to Southern California Edison 34 Pages
Permit Package 10 Pages
Interconnection Agreement with Southern California Edison 22 Pages
Final Incentive Claim form To Edison 22 Pages
That equates to 88 pages of documentation in order to get a rebate from Southern California Edison. One thing that I have noted over time is that Edison appears to have a culture where rejecting applications is the norm. In the Southern California Edison System, if your paperwork is flagged with even the most minor problem, it is suspended or rejected and you are sent to the back of the queue for up to 14 days. This used to be much worse. An additional problem is that Southern California Edison requirements and enforcement of requirements has changed over time so that it is nearly impossible to have standard documentation that will pass their inspection.
The contrast is CCSE which processes SDGE reservations and claims. If a minor error is discoved when going through CCSE, they will typically give the contractor a phone call and the problem is resolved over the phone.
The culture at Edison, whether intentional or not, is impeding the implementation of solar in Southern California. The long period between signing a contract with a potential customer, getting a reservation and getting an check from Edison stretches the cash flow and credit limits of many companies and the prolonged project management time frames increase the cost of solar in Edison territory.
Tier 1 Solar Companies can withstand these extended project time lines with the use of strong credit lines and strong balance sheets. Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies that install less than 1 installation per month can't handle larger jobs or the impact to cash flow that working with Edison requires.
