Can Adoption of Rooftop Solar PV Panels Trigger a Utility Death Spiral?

The growing penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) such as solar and wind power is causing major changes in the electricity market. One key concern is that existing tariffs incentivize ‘free riding’ behavior by households, which leads to a cycle of rising electricity prices and DER adoption, thereby eroding utility revenues and start a death spiral. We developed a model using data from two cities in the U.S. to explore this issue.