Several other countries have actually passed laws that pay customers back who generate their own electricity. In Germany, if you own a solar panel system to make your own electricity, if you're consuming less than what you're generating, then power companies actually pay you for the amount you gave back to the grid. Australia is also following closely in the solar power revolution.
Solar power is probably the fastest growing source of renewable energy that's getting a boom in popularity. More and more people are actually deciding to live independent from the grid and generate their own electricity within their own homes and it is such a good idea that there are several companies who pay the customers back for the excess electricity that they generated and put back to the grid.
In some homes, they even go as far as completely detaching themselves from the grid. They have systems large enough to support their whole electrical consumption and even probably take in a few low income homes under their wing as well. During the summer, the amount of electricity they generate gets extremely high and they won't have to worry about bills no longer.
It's not surprising that the number of people who are realizing this incredible resource is increasing by the minute. The sun is probably the most powerful force in nature and we have finally found a way to get a share of that power.