The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was authorized by Assembly Bill 693 to administer and fund the California Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program. In 2023 Senate Bill 355 extended the program’s end date through 2032 and authorized program changes to increase participation. SOMAH aims to bring up to 300 megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity to California affordable housing properties through financial incentives offered by investor-owned utilities (IOUs). According to the most recent program report, 63.4 MW of SOMAH solar projects have been completed through July 2023, and interest in the program remains high.
In 2023 the CPUC initiated a process for reviewing and updating SOMAH program requirements and rules, and this week’s Proposed Decision includes a number of program changes, some in response to program administrator and stakeholder recommendations. Among other things, the Proposed Decision:
- Sets goals, metrics and performance indicators to assess and advance progress toward program goals;
- Makes safety and code compliance-related costs (including panel upgrades and structural roof repairs) and integrated battery energy storage costs eligible for program incentives;
- Suspends required use of the outdated “expected performance based buydown” method and calculator, which has been producing a significantly lower incentive amount for systems located in Northern California, and authorizes the SOMAH program administrator (PA) to develop a replacement method and calculator;
- Provides sixty percent of total project incentives to all projects after they receive a Proof of Project Milestone Approval notification;
- Establishes an advanced payment pathway for tribal projects, to address the unique obstacle of exclusion from traditional load financing due to their sovereignty status;
- Establishes new data collection and marketing, education and outreach (ME&O) requirements;
- Provides support for virtual net energy metering for SOMAH, with a requirement for dedicated staffing to address protracted IOU interconnection/billing changeover delays;
- Makes changes to encourage participation in small IOU service territories, including direction that ME&O efforts focus on owners and operators of affordable housing and contractors and modified job training requirements;
- Requires the SOMAH PA to convene a workshop within 90 days after the final decision is issued, in order to receive input on how best to provide incentives for integrated battery storage before proposing changes to the program implementation plan and handbook.
Comments on the Proposed Decision are due October 21, and reply comments October 28.
Contact: Lynn Haug or Andy Brown
