Got a letter from the Clean Power Alliance and have solar on your roof? Here are some considerations.

If you live in La Cañada Flintridge and got a letter from Clean Power Alliance (CPA), you are not losing your solar. The city picked CPA as the company that makes the power. Southern California Edison (SCE) still delivers it over the wires. You will keep getting one bill from SCE. On that bill, CPA charges for the electricity itself. SCE charges for using the grid. If you already had solar with SCE, nothing switched until your yearly solar true-up with Edison was done. After that, CPA handles the solar credits for the power you make. Edison still handles the delivery charges. CPA also does its own yearly solar reckoning every April, for everyone.

Think of the bill as two piles. Solar credits only shrink the “power generation” pile. They do not wipe out the “delivery” pile. That is why a house can make more power than it uses and still get a bill. Here is simple math from a local rooftop year: the home pulled about 9,814 kilowatt-hours from the grid and sent about 10,105 back. That is only 291 extra kilowatt-hours for the whole year. Those extra units do not turn into a huge check. Most of the value is used month by month, when daytime solar pays for some of the power you buy at night. In April, CPA adds up the leftover generation credits. If you are owed $100 or more, they mail a check. If it is less, it stays on the bill. CPA also pays a little extra on any true leftover power, at a rate 10% higher than Edison’s leftover-power rate.

Your panels make the most power in the middle of the day, when the sun is out and the rate is lowest. After sunset it is dark, so the panels cannot run the house. That is when air conditioning, cooking, and car charging often kick in, and those hours cost more. The way to get more out of the solar you already have is to pair it with a battery. The battery stores cheap midday solar and uses it after dark, so you buy less from the grid when rates are high.

You do not have to change anything because of the letter. You can stay on 100% Green Power, switch to Clean Power or Lean Power, or add a battery later. For a custom rundown, call CPA at 888-585-3788. Edison still handles the wires.