Rooftop solar isn’t just for rich folks. It’s for single moms like me

I’m a single mother to a son who just left for the United States Air Force. And like a lot of other working parents in South Carolina, the electric bills I paid every month just kept going up.

About three years ago, I took a job at a solar company called Sunrun even though I didn’t know much about the solar industry. I started hearing how customers were saving money. My electric bill was about $250 a month, and I needed some relief. So I also became a customer.

When my solar panels went up, my electric bill went down.

In 2014, the Legislature made South Carolina a solar-friendly state, and the industry boomed. Companies hired more workers, including me, and installed solar arrays on 11,000 homes, like mine. But all that progress could soon grind to a halt.

Two bills are coming to a vote in the House, possibly as soon as Tuesday. Both remove the cap on solar installations that had been put in place as part of the 2014 law at the utilities’ behest. But H.5045 also slashes the fair credits that help people save money. It would allow utilities to take the excess energy my panels generate at a cut rate, and sell it at full retail price to my neighbors.

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SC House bill would strength utilities’ stranglehold over consumers

Solar power will not solve SC energy needs

This is the conservative path out of our nuclear nightmare

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The credit on my electric bill would drop, and that would mean more of my money going to SCE&G, which already charges some of the highest rates in the country. That’s not fair. And it would wipe out the financial benefits of solar for thousands of homeowners.

Instead, I support H.4421, the Energy Consumer Bill of Rights Act. That eliminates the cap, and it allows working families to take full advantage of the South Carolina sun to save money on power bills.

Solar isn’t just for rich people. It’s for people like me and my neighbors. Right now, solar works for South Carolina. Let’s support H.4421 and keep it that way.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Rooftop solar isn’t just for rich folks. It’s for single moms like me."