The international climate talks underway outside of Paris this month could have a surprising effect on your electric bill and the future of power companies like Con Edison.

That’s because any sort of treaty to emerge will likely encourage the use of solar power, which is not always distributed through the electric grid in the way that power from other sources is. While there are solar farms, homeowners in New York state are allowed to sell excess energy from their rooftop solar panels back to the grid.

As rooftop solar panels and other types of “distributed energy” proliferate, utility companies will be selling less and less of its own power, and buying more and more of other people’s power, cutting into their profits.

“The way utilities make money is threatened the more individuals disconnect and use less power from the grid,” said Rory Christian, the director of New York State Clean Energy at the Environmental Defense Fund. “But what’s important to understand is the utilities will be important in the future. They will be needed. And ensuring the utilities can play a role in the future where we have cleaner distributed energy resources is of paramount importance right now.”

Christian says a New York state initiative, Reforming the Energy Vision, is intended to find new ways for utility companies under the future energy scenarios in order to make sure they can serve customers and to prevent them from obstructing clean power plans. 

Listen to the whole interview with WNYC's Soterios Johnson.