California’s microgrid ambitions keep colliding with utility red tape. (PV Magazine)
The biggest hurdle: California’s “over-the-fence rule,” which prevents one property from sharing electricity with another unless it’s a regulated utility. That means even if a neighborhood has solar and batteries, it can’t legally share power with the fire station next door without utility involvement.
A $200 million state incentive program has helped a few pilot projects move forward, but utility resistance and complex permitting continue to stall progress.
Some advocates say the fix may come from technology, not politics. Using blockchain-based systems to tokenize and trade power locally could sidestep the “over-the-fence” restriction by creating secure, peer-to-peer energy exchanges.