By Bill Loveless | Special to USA TODAY
When you think about disruption in the U.S. electric power industry, one of the first companies that comes to mind is SolarCity.
Since its founding in 2006, the San Mateo, Calif.-based business has become the number-one installer of solar panels on residential roofs, and a villain in the eyes of some utility executives who see SolarCity and its competitors potentially cutting deeply into their electricity sales.
So, it may come as a surprise that SolarCity is reaching out to utility companies and grid operators to form partnerships.
“I’m very interested in finding a utility that we can work with that wants to solve problems, not prevent change,” SolarCity’s co-founder and CEO, Lyndon Rive, said in an interview. “It would be learning for both of us.”
