Sunrun CEO lays out impact of ending clean power credits in new tax bill

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00:00Joining us now for a Power Lunch exclusive is Mary Powell. She is the CEO of Sunrun. Mary,

00:05I wish it was on a better time that we were talking like this, and I appreciate you jumping

00:10on in sort of short notice. Listen, many members of Congress, their staff, many of your investors

00:16are watching right now. What is your message to them? Well, my message, Brian, is that what we

00:23are all about is delivering on what actually what our president wants, which is delivering

00:28American energy independence and doing it in a way that is creating a more affordable,

00:34resilient future for so many Main Street Americans, while we also are the leader in the nation that is

00:40bringing together storage and solar in homes to also provide energy back to the grid. As we all know,

00:47we're facing challenges from a capacity perspective in the country with the grid needing more energy,

00:53whether it's AI or electrification. So we very much see that what we're doing is delivering on

01:00what the administration wants. And we're hopeful that all the hours that went into the House Ways

01:06and Means efforts to deliver a bill that was very thoughtful, that then got changed in the wee hours

01:14of the morning. We're very hopeful that as we work through this with the senators, we will ultimately,

01:21and the Congress folks that we're working with as well. Yeah. So you are optimistic,

01:27it sounds like, Mary, that ultimately, because the Senate kind of runs the show, the House is going

01:31to do it, Senate's going to do what they want, that they got to kind of figure it out.

01:34So you're optimistic that the Senate will sort of put back in or eliminate the elimination.

01:41How about that? Put that tax break back into the finished bill. And also, it's not just the

01:47federal government. It's like, you're right about everything you just said. We need all this power.

01:51It accomplishes climate goals. And yet the state of California, which we've talked about before,

01:57also changed some of their net metering rules to make it less economical. I feel like your

02:02industry is getting hammered from all sides at a time when we need all the energy we can get.

02:07It's just a little weird. Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, so again, I have been in energy, as you know,

02:14Brian, for over 20 years. And yes, you're right. What we are doing is about helping to deliver American

02:21energy independence and dominance. And so ultimately, that is why I feel like this will

02:27land in a reasonable place, because America needs what we're doing. Main Street American needs what

02:33we're doing. And frankly, without changes, you're talking about the loss of, oh, my gosh,

02:38probably at least a quarter of a million jobs. You're talking about energy prices going up for

02:44Americans, for Main Street America. So it just, it feels like, yes, it should land in a logical place

02:51when what we're doing is delivering on what the administration wants, what American needs,

02:58and what Main Street America is asking for, which is also to have choice and to have independence

03:04in how they power their homes and how they store that energy and control their own lives.

03:10How much, hi, Mary, it's Kelly here. How much would this change the cost? Because I know,

03:14as you say, a lot of people want, you know, everything you just described, a lot of other

03:18people don't want the handouts for a solar industry that they view as kind of ancillary or even

03:24sucking resources that could be better used elsewhere. So how would the move in this bill

03:29change the cost for a typical homeowner trying to use solar power? Well, I mean, the big challenge is

03:35that this is going to drive up the cost of energy. Like, you know, and so again, you know, what the

03:42House Ways and Means bill did was a thoughtful approach on thinking about how do you phase this over

03:48time? And that is the way that you do it in a way that's not disruptive for business in

03:53America. And that's also the way you do it to accomplish the very goals that you're talking

03:58about. So again, what we do is about delivering energy independence for individual consumers,

04:05but also in a way we are we are pulling together like over 60,000 customers this summer, as an example,

04:12in California to support the grid. So actually, these resources are very much an important part of

04:20the future of America's grid. Yeah. And Mary Powell, Sunrun, I know tough day for you and your

04:24investors, but we're glad you jumped on the show. Very short notice. Mary, thank you very much.

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