California licensing board now requiring licensed electricians for energy storage retrofits and maintenance

Late last week, the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) dealt a blow to the state’s goal of rapidly growing local energy storage capacity, according to the California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA).

The CSLB voted to approve a new rule that would prohibit licensed solar contractors from installing new battery storage capacity to existing solar systems or from performing maintenance on battery storage systems including those they installed themselves. Those projects would now require a licensed electrician. Licensed solar contractors would still be able to install smaller battery storage at the same time when solar systems are being installed but the inability to offer warranties on those systems renders the allowance impractical.

By severely limiting the workforce permitted to build solar and energy storage systems and raising the cost of installations, the CLSB rule contradicts California’s stated goal of rapidly growing energy storage capacity.

Clean energy advocates described the new rule as a solution in search of a problem. It was approved by the CSLB despite the board’s own research finding zero previous safety issues or incidents across the all U.S. energy storage batteries installed to date.

“California keeps saying one thing but doing another when it comes to the fight against climate change,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of CALSSA. “In just the past year, California slashed rooftop solar incentives, prohibited self-generation for schools and farms, and proposed expensive fixed charges that hurt energy conservation and low energy users. Now they are undermining California’s emerging battery storage progress through severe workforce limitations. This has to stop if we are to move forward as a state, keep energy prices low, and prevent future blackouts.”

The new rule was opposed by the solar and storage industry, clean energy advocates and consumers, along with unions representing laborers and carpenters. The electrician union, which has a signed agreement with PG&E to address “competitive threats in the marketplace” supported the change.

The rule will now be reviewed by the California Office of Administrative Law to ensure the regulations are “clear, necessary, and legally valid” and that the CSLB complied with the standards set forth in California’s Administrative Procedure Act. The rule could then go into effect as early as the Fall of 2024.

Opponents of the rule have asked the Newsom Administration to step in and are considering legal challenges based on a mix of procedural and substantive flaws in the CSLB’s rulemaking process including the fact that the agency refused to study the environmental impacts of the new rule.

News item from the California Solar & Storage Association