California Public Utilities Commission puts solar power on right track - San Francisco Chronicle

California Public Utilities Commission puts solar power on right track
Isaac Bonnell decommissions solar panels from a home in San Francisco. Recent California Public Utilities Commission decisions have cut the rate that utilities pay homeowners with new solar panels for excess energy sold to the grid. Amy Osborne/Special to the Chronicle 2023

Regarding “California is about to side with PG&E — again — this time to kill community solar projects”(Editorial, SFChronicle.com, May 28): The editorial board’s opinion on community solar is flawed and misses the mark.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s decision gets it right, focusing on improved affordability for all customers, expanding proven programs and rejecting the expensive model put forth by solar developers, regardless of the legal issues raised by parties outside of California.

The editorial’s stance that solar developers’ proposal “is a win-win” fails to recognize that the costs for these projects — which could be as high as $8 billion over the life of the assets — would be paid by customers who aren’t enrolled in the program, similar to nonsolar residential customers today paying 15% more per month to subsidize the electric bills of those with rooftop solar panels.

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PG&E recognizes the significant role solar power plays in California’s clean energy future, but it needs to be done in a way that is fair and equitable for all customers.

Vitaly Tyurin, director of customer generation and storage, PG&E

Don’t ignore crime problem

Regarding “When can we say things aren’t so bad in Oakland and San Francisco?”(Justin Phillips, SFChronicle.com, May 26): To my surprise, I learned that I’m an “unhinged moderate” for supporting the recalls of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, according to Justin Phillips.

I’ve lived in Oakland for 30 years, and I’ve never felt more wary or unsafe.

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A recent example: The shooting at Skyline High’s graduation ceremony, where my daughter graduated 10 years ago. I can’t imagine that beautiful ceremony being forever tainted by senseless violence, causing celebrants to scatter for shelter.

Yet Phillips says don’t believe your lying eyes, dismissing the event as just random violence, only the “ignorant actions of a few.”

A longtime friend was personally impacted by Price’s policies: Her daughter was shot at leaving a convenience store near Lake Merritt; a bullet is still lodged in her half-sister’s rib, and their car was totaled by bullet holes. All involved were Black. My friend was devastated when Price later dropped the deadly weapon enhancement charge, reducing a truly “unhinged” perpetrator’s sentence.

Phillips needs to get real: Stop labeling and name-calling those of us who believe that local government should keep its citizens safe. And stop pitting liberal Democrats against each other — we need to unite and save democracy this election year.

Rachel Koretsky, Oakland

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Good riddance to track

Regarding “Horse racing fans relish Golden Gate Fields’ past and rail against its pending demise”(Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, May 27): Scott Ostler’s eulogy of Golden Gate Fields was apt. Thank goodness horse racing is fading in popularity and tracks are closing across the country.

Horse racing has long been institutionalized and glorified animal abuse, just like rodeos. These horses have been raced before maturity and drugged extensively in a “sport” that is exploitative of its unwilling participants. It’s a money game where all bets are off for the horses themselves.

More letters to the editor

I look forward to seeing the track’s location used for another purpose, preferably housing.

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Kecia Talbot, San Rafael

Tents take space, too

Regarding “Even the gardening world is now ensnared in San Francisco’s culture war over homelessness”(Opinion, SFChronicle.com, May 29): Soleil Ho opines that planters on San Francisco sidewalks mean, “There’s also less room for wheelchairs and pedestrians.”

I would submit that tents on the sidewalks lead to the same, if not even less room.

I do believe that the good folks of San Francisco are just fed up with zero actual progress ever being made with the homelessness situation. I cannot blame them.

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Bret Yeilding, South Windsor, Conn.

Recommended reading

Regarding “I found a POW bracelet at an antiques shop. Here’s what it taught me”(Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, May 27): Any Chronicle reader who missed contributor Paul Loya’s Open Forum should check it out now. It’s one of the most moving things I’ve read in the Chronicle. I’m hoping Mr. Loya will expand his piece into a novel.

Ken Malucelli, Half Moon Bay