Distributed generation & storage

Our approach

PG&E is committed to increasing the use of clean distributed energy to meet customer needs, while supporting California’s climate goals as well as our own.

We provide a variety of tools and resources for customers who want to use solar energy, other distributed generation, or storage. Customers can learn about the process for adopting solar and determine if solar is right for them. PG&E also offers other benefits to customers, including resiliency and clean energy programs; incentive programs for fuel cells, wind, and battery storage; and solar programs for general and income-qualified customers.

PG&E’s Solar Billing Plan encourages customers to pair storage with rooftop solar to help reduce their monthly electric bill by storing excess energy generated by their solar system for later use. This replaced the Net Energy Metering program.

2024 milestones

Community renewables programs

For customers unable to install on-site generation, our community renewables programs give customers the option to purchase up to 100% of their electricity from renewable resources. According to data compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, our two programs continue to place among the top 10 green energy programs in the country.

DERMS initiative

We’re deploying an enterprise Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS). We started with an initial foundational platform that, in the coming years, will be scaled toward the long-term objective of orchestrating DERs on the grid.

Our initial focus is on increasing visibility of DERs such as solar, batteries, and flexible loads; accelerating customer connections to the grid; and maximizing the use of existing grid capacity on constrained distribution circuits.

In 2024, we deployed our first DERMS-controlled sites through Flex Connect, enabling customers with controllable power needs, like EV chargers, to connect to the grid faster and without needing to wait for capacity upgrades.

Building community resilience

Continued our resiliency partnership with the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) through the Disability Disaster Access and Resources Program to deliver a readiness program that supports people with disabilities, older adults, and customers who use durable medical equipment and assistive technology required to live independently. In 2024, CFILC completed over 1,100 assessments and provided 580 portable batteries to qualifying customers.
Supported clean temporary generation solutions through a variety of pilot programs aimed at enhancing grid reliability during PSPS events and broader grid outages. These initiatives include clean energy solutions with mobile battery storage and vehicle-to-grid technology integrated at community microgrids.
Pursued a long-duration energy storage system that will use green hydrogen fuel cells and batteries, rather than diesel, to provide a long-term backup power solution for customers in downtown Calistoga during PSPS events.

Advancing clean technologies

Helped customers build resilience using energy storage through our Self-Generation Incentive Program. We have completed over 23,000 storage interconnections resulting in over $1 billion in total payments from 2001 through 2024.
Supported customer solar thermal technology through our California Solar Initiative (CSI)-Thermal Program. While the program sunset in October 2024, PG&E provided over $5 million in statewide incentive payments in 2024.
Operated the Solar on Multi-Family Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program, which provides incentives to install solar generation in disadvantaged communities through a community-based approach.

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PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program helps communities overcome the technical, financial, legal, and regulatory challenges involved in deploying multi-customer community microgrids. Through enhanced technical support and cost offsets for certain distribution system upgrades, the program assists communities in building resilience that fits their unique needs.

Additionally, our Microgrid Incentive Program provides funding, expertise, and guidance for building community, local, and tribal government-proposed multi-customer microgrids. This statewide $200 million competitive grant program will fund clean-energy community microgrids in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.

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To support resiliency during PSPS events, we provide free portable backup battery solutions to medical baseline customers and self-identified vulnerable customers who have durable medical equipment or assistive technologies and have been frequently impacted by either PSPS or EPSS events. Since the program launched in 2020, we have completed approximately 26,000 assessments and provided over 26,000 portable batteries to customers.

PG&E’s Fixed Power Solutions program provides permanent battery storage solutions for residential customers on circuits most impacted by EPSS. Since launching in 2022, PG&E has installed nearly 2,000 permanent batteries for residential customers. PG&E is also providing automatic transfer switches and generator rebates to K-12 schools on circuits most impacted by EPSS. As of the end of 2024, we installed nine switches at various schools.

Measuring progress

In 2024, we reached nearly 900,000 customer-sited solar systems, after interconnecting over 65,000 new systems. This represents almost 9,000 MW of customer-sited solar. PG&E continued to maintain efficient interconnection timelines, averaging 40 days for business customers and 13 days for residential customers.

Additionally, through 2024, over 120,000 customers have installed battery storage at their homes or businesses, equivalent to 1,100 MW of capacity.

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