en.Wedoany.com Reported - U.S. utility company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) announced that the number of solar system connections on its grid has exceeded 1 million, making it the utility with the most solar customers in the nation. The company stated that this achievement reflects decades of policy support, customer adoption, and grid upgrades, with solar energy evolving from a niche technology in the 1990s into a core component of California's power system.

Growth has accelerated significantly in recent years. PG&E noted that between 2020 and 2025, more than 500,000 new solar interconnection points were added, with over 70,000 new solar installations annually over the past two years. In Northern and Central California, homes, farms, schools, and businesses are leveraging solar energy to reduce emissions, enhance resilience, and reshape how electricity is produced and consumed.

This milestone also reflects a broader shift in how utilities think about distributed energy. PG&E stated that its focus is no longer solely on connecting rooftop systems but on transforming the grid to accommodate bidirectional power flow through automation, forecasting, streamlined interconnection, and increased battery storage. This effort is closely tied to virtual power plants, which allow aggregated customer batteries to act as a flexible resource during peak demand or local constraints.

PG&E highlighted a 2025 test in which customer batteries delivered 535 megawatts of power to the grid over two hours, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes during the evening peak. The company said such projects demonstrate how solar and storage can become part of grid operations, rather than just peripheral components of the system.

PG&E also expressed support for newer customer technologies, including plug-and-play solar and energy storage systems, but noted that any equipment exporting power must meet safety and grid standards. The company views this milestone as evidence that California's grid is becoming more distributed, digital, and participatory.

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