Utilities Use Safety Rules to Stall Plug‑In Solar

State lawmakers are introducing bills to exempt small plug‑in ("balcony") solar panels from full interconnection agreements, but electric utilities are raising safety concerns and successfully delaying votes in several states. Department of Energy–funded research and Germany’s experience (over one million systems installed) suggest the safety risks can be managed, indicating the opposition is partly about lost sales and grid business models. — If utilities can block easy, low‑cost rooftop generation via regulatory friction, it slows decentralization of the grid, raises household electricity costs, and shapes the political economy of the energy transition.