Power companies are the last monopolies. Rooftop solar is David to their Goliath.

There’s a reason monopolies have a bad name. They have total control over what consumers are charged and where they can go for service.

We don’t allow monopolies in the United States. In fact, it’s a federal crime.

AT&T was the most recent one to fall, operating as a legal monopoly for nearly a century. Its breakup in the 1980s immediately benefitted the customer as prices dropped, quality increased and concepts like “renting” phones disappeared.

Companies like Sprint challenged AT&T in the market and pushed prices to fall. Today, you have options.

Competition benefits you. Monopolization imprisons you.

After 130 years of dismantling monopolies to protect consumers, there is one last American monopoly left standing: your electric utility company.

You can’t fight to reduce costs. You don’t have the power — literally and figuratively — to find another provider. Since the 19th century, electric utilities have had no one to compete with, until rooftop solar came along.

It's the David to their Goliath.

There are four steps in the death of a monopoly. First, the monopoly ignores its emerging competition. Solar will never keep the lights on, run the A/C and charge an electric vehicle for an entire home, right?

Next, as the competition becomes a threat, the monopoly mocks. Solar on your roof? That’ll probably catch on fire. Plus, we heard that stuff is expensive and unreliable. You need us.

Then, as the competition’s prices fall and technology advances, the monopoly fights, and they fight dirty. “Solar is only propped up by subsidies!” Except no subsidies exist. There’s a federal income tax credit, but nothing touches the utility.

“Net Energy Metering (NEM) 2.0 disproportionately affects the poor! There’s a cost shift from solar customers!” Except the cost shift doesn’t exist. Southern California Edison owes $550 million in fines for its infrastructure’s role in five wildfires, a huge cost shift that didn’t come from solar. Guess where SCE will get the money?

“There’s no proof NEM 3.0 will kill rooftop solar!” Yes, there is. Ask the Imperial Irrigation District. Its Net Billing program was instituted in July 2016, resulting in a 100% decline year over year in rooftop solar installations. Solar died in IID five years ago.

The fourth step? The monopoly collapses.

NEM 3.0 is the last punch from the utilities, bloodied from decades of outdated processes and technology.

We are on the cusp of a clean energy revolution powered by individual rooftops. NEM 3.0 is the utilities’ last hope to stay in power, and NEM 2.0 is the only way for ratepayers to keep it.

Vincent Battaglia is the CEO and founder of Palm Desert-based Renova Energy. Email him at vbattaglia@renovaenergy.com.