State regulators are proposing rules that would allow rooftop solar owners to continue selling electricity back to power companies.
The solar industry said California utility regulators have handed them a major victory.
The California Public Utilities Commission issued the proposed ruling Tuesday. It would allow a process called net metering to continue past January.
Regulators rejected utility-backed efforts to make solar financially unattractive.
"This proposed decision clearly is a rejection of the utility claims of enormous subsidy amounts from non-solar customers to solar customers. Those numbers aren't real, and the proposed decision rejects them," said Brad Heavner of the California Solar Energy Industries Association.
Utilities have argued that non-solar customers are subsidizing their solar-powered neighbors. The power companies were hoping for additional fees along with an end to the net metering subsidy.
"We're going to continue to engage with the CPUC and hopefully find a better solution than what's in today's decision, (one) that helps to limit the potential burden on non-solar customers," said Amber Albrecht, a spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric.
Solar customers will have to pay some additional charges, but solar backers say the changes do not make solar installations prohibitively expensive.
The full Public Utilities Commission still has to vote on the measure before it is adopted.
