☀ California Solar Policy Update
California is moving toward a future where your solar battery doesn’t just save you money — it earns you money.
A newly introduced California Senate bill, SB 913, could change the financial equation for homeowners with battery storage. If passed, the bill would allow utilities and grid operators to treat residential batteries like real power plants — opening the door to programs that pay homeowners for sharing their stored energy during peak demand hours.
|
8,000
New home batteries
added in California each month |
100 MW
New storage capacity
added monthly (CPUC data) |
25 yrs
Locked-in lower
electricity rates with a Solar PPA |
The Grid Is Ready. Is California’s Policy?
California utility customers are adding roughly 8,000 new home batteries to the grid every single month — approximately 100 MW of new storage capacity according to the California Public Utilities Commission. That’s a massive, untapped resource sitting in garages and backyards across the state.
The problem? Current policy doesn’t fully recognize that power. As energy advocates have pointed out, California has spent years encouraging homeowners to invest in rooftop solar, batteries, and smart home technology — but the rules still undervalue how these resources can help solve the energy affordability crisis.
SB 913, sponsored by State Senator Josh Becker (D), aims to fix that.
“California has a choice. We can continue to build our way out of the problem at great cost, or we can use the capacity we already have more efficiently.”
— Senator Josh Becker (D), SB 913 lead sponsor
How It Would Work
SB 913 would allow energy aggregators to bundle stored energy from thousands of home batteries into a Virtual Power Plant — and bid that capacity into California’s resource adequacy and utility markets.
In plain terms: instead of utilities paying to build expensive new gas peaker plants, they could contract with networks of home battery owners — and pass a portion of those payments back to you as the homeowner.
- You install solar + battery storage at your home (ideally through a $0-down PPA)
- An energy aggregator links your battery into a Virtual Power Plant network
- During peak demand, the aggregator bids your stored capacity into the state grid market
- Utilities pay for that capacity instead of spinning up a gas peaker plant
- A portion of that payment flows back to you as the homeowner
Under California’s existing resource adequacy rules, utilities are already required to purchase enough capacity to meet peak demand. SB 913 would allow customer-owned clean energy resources — home batteries, EVs, and smart thermostats — to compete directly with traditional power sources for those capacity payments.
☀ Solar Lifestyle Perspective
This Is What the Solar Civilization Looks Like
This is exactly the kind of policy shift that validates the Solar Lifestyle vision. When your home runs on the sun and your battery feeds clean power back to the grid, you’re not just saving money — you’re participating in the collective upgrade of human civilization’s energy infrastructure.
Going solar with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) already means $0 down, locked-in lower electricity rates for 25 years, and zero maintenance. SB 913 represents the next logical step: your home becoming not just an energy consumer, but an active node in a living, clean energy grid.
Financial freedom starts at home. Solar already reduces what you pay the utility. Programs enabled by SB 913 could flip the relationship entirely — the utility paying you.
Where the Bill Stands Right Now
● Active — in committee process
SB 913 was amended and re-referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations following its April 7, 2026 Energy Committee vote. A final floor vote has not yet been scheduled, but momentum is building.
Meanwhile, parallel progress is already happening. PG&E and Tesla recently announced an agreement allowing Cybertruck owners to sell power back to California’s grid through a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) pilot program, with up to $4,500 in equipment and installation incentives included.
The direction is clear. California is building a grid powered by its people — and early-adopter homeowners will be best positioned to benefit.
Ready to Position Your Home for What’s Coming?
The homeowners who act now — going solar under a $0-down PPA while battery incentives and grid participation programs are still expanding — will be best positioned when SB 913 becomes law.