SGIP—Program Background
In September 2000, Assembly Bill 970 (AB 970) was approved, which called for the creation of more energy supply and demand programs. As a result, in March 2001, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision creating the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) to offer financial incentives to their customers who install certain types of distributed generation facilities to meet all or a portion of their energy needs. In late 2003, AB 1685 extended the SGIP through 2007. Then, in late 2006, AB 2778 extended the SGIP again through 2011. In early 2006, the CPUC established the California Solar Initiative (CSI) and ordered changes to transition solar from the SGIP into the CSI beginning in 2007.
Generation must be certified to operate in parallel with the electric system grid (not backup generation) and meet other criteria established by the California Public Utilities Commission. While residential customers are not barred from the program, it is designed primarily with business and large institutional customers in mind. The California Energy Commission offers a similar program that is available to customers who install renewable generation, such as fuel cells and wind turbines, less than 30 kW in size.
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