Utility companies lobby, sue, and push fradulent initiatives to prevent solar power. They raise rates and use their billions in profits to hires scores of lobbyists, create confusion, lie, dominate the utilites commissions, and buy politicians. In Florida, the utilities hired 80 lobbyists., made $1.6 billion in profits, gave $18 million to politicians, gave over $ 1 million to the governor, raised electric rates, charged extra fees to customers with solar panels. and sponsored a mistitled initiative to stop solar. Utilities in NV and AZ did similar outrageous acts to prevent solar. This is despite that solar prevents burning oil, gas, and coal; prevents the cost of building new power generating facilities; and provides energy during the peak demand period for afternoon A/C. Also, the solar homeowner pays for the construction installation and allows it to be put on their own land. But these prevent the utilities from making money by charging more for constructing power plants, for buying coal and gas, and for building more transmissions lines. Also the utility usually has to pay the homeowner for excess electricity fed back into the system. "When your opponents have no ethical foundation, have unlimited resources and are willing to say and do anything to defeat you," says Stephen Smith, director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, which led the pro-solar effort, "it's a tough hurdle to overcome." LINK Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-koch-brothers-dirty-war-on-solar-power-20160211#ixzz40evgAFlR Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook