California People (Electricity)

[TCHB]

Keep your eye on this new CPUC ruling

The California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote Friday on dueling proposals that would revamp electricity rates for customers of Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric. Both plans would raise rates for those who use the least energy and for those who use the most, but one would do so much more dramatically.

 

[Singleton]

Keep your eye on this new CPUC ruling

The California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote Friday on dueling proposals that would revamp electricity rates for customers of Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric. Both plans would raise rates for those who use the least energy and for those who use the most, but one would do so much more dramatically.

Read that as well. Behind the scenes, they are trying to make up for $$ lost when customers move to solar.

 

[BasilHayden]

Only sure thing is they will raise rates again, I am surprised though because this time they have targeted "everyone else" rather than those energy wasters. In the past the little old lady with a light bulb and 13" TV was always off limits to the increases. This time she takes the biggest hit.

The other big change coming will be the expiration of Net Metering as we know it. SDGE has less than a year, SCE just about a year. They are also voting on the transition plan and the future Net Metering agreement. Solar will still be viable, but they will absolutely make it a little less so. All the plans I've seen so far add a few years to the payback again. Now is the time, just saying.

 

[TCHB]

Read that as well. Behind the scenes, they are trying to make up for $$ lost when customers move to solar.

California load has dropped over 5,000 MWs in the past 8 years due a lot of things including solar.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...zRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycommoney-topstories

 

[Tpltrbl303]

Only sure thing is they will raise rates again, I am surprised though because this time they have targeted "everyone else" rather than those energy wasters. In the past the little old lady with a light bulb and 13" TV was always off limits to the increases. This time she takes the biggest hit.

The other big change coming will be the expiration of Net Metering as we know it. SDGE has less than a year, SCE just about a year. They are also voting on the transition plan and the future Net Metering agreement. Solar will still be viable, but they will absolutely make it a little less so. All the plans I've seen so far add a few years to the payback again. Now is the time, just saying.

The city of Lompoc utilities already hit the 2.5% goal and no longer offers net metering. They charge .10 per kwh to all solar customers... This applies to all power you use whether you generate it yourself or buy it from them.

I do believe they are using the same model that all the big utilities are going to switch to.

I suggest to all my potential customers that if solar is on their "definitely" list, not to wait too long to decide.

 

[HitIt]

They charge .10 per kwh to all solar customers... This applies to all power you use whether you generate it yourself or buy it from them.

Wait, what? If I produce 100% of the power I use during the day using solar, I get charged for the power I use during the day? Or just the power I pull from the grid at night and I can't "make up for it" during the day with solar.

 

[BasilHayden]

Wait, what? If I produce 100% of the power I use during the day using solar, I get charged for the power I use during the day? Or just the power I pull from the grid at night and I can't "make up for it" during the day with solar.

I can't speak to lompoc, some of the small local utilities are able to do some pretty crazy things. I can tell you the big boys would go this route if allowed, that said they intend to charge a standard fee for "use" of the grid in lieu. This is why there is a rush to get into the current net metering agreement before it gets renegotiated. Those grandfathered into the old agreement will be much better off than those who waited for the next great technology leap.

 

[Tpltrbl303]

Wait, what? If I produce 100% of the power I use during the day using solar, I get charged for the power I use during the day? Or just the power I pull from the grid at night and I can't "make up for it" during the day with solar.

Yes, unfortunately.

 

[Tpltrbl303]

I can't speak to lompoc, some of the small local utilities are able to do some pretty crazy things. I can tell you the big boys would go this route if allowed, that said they intend to charge a standard fee for "use" of the grid in lieu. This is why there is a rush to get into the current net metering agreement before it gets renegotiated. Those grandfathered into the old agreement will be much better off than those who waited for the next great technology leap.

Well said

 

[HitIt]

The whole power situation is ridiculous. It makes me want to disconnect my power and figure it out completely on my own.

I think Elon Musk is pretty forward thinking with the Tesla Power Wall. With the end of net metering people are going to want to store the excess power they generate during the day locally since they wont be able to use the grid as a battery anymore. It is pretty costly right now but 5 years down the line, who knows.

I also wonder how long the grandfathered net metering will last. I am sure people will say it is "illegal" to do away with it but the same was said by Verizon's mobile customers about their unlimited data packages. They always figure out a way to fuck you. I could see them jacking the base connection fee for net metered customers so high in the future that the customers will "choose" to go to their non-net plans.

 

[HitIt]

Yes, unfortunately.

I am definitely not calling you a liar but this is so hard for me to believe that I hope you can provide a link to this policy. I just cant see this being legal. If I am producing 10kW at noon and my house is using 1kW at noon, I get charged?

With the end of net metering it seems like the solar installs are going to be getting much smaller (and less frequent) since it is pointless to have any excess capacity during the day. My average load during the day is around 2-3kW. It wouldn't make sense for me to put in anything much larger than a 2kW system. My ACs are on a few months of the year for a few hours a day when my panels wouldn't be generating peak output anyway so there would not be a really good reason for me to include those in my solar calculation. Under net metering I was pricing out a ~6 kW system.

 

[Tpltrbl303]

http://www.cityoflompoc.com/utilities/conservation

Look at utility rates

 

[pronstar]

$0.08 - $0.12 / kW in the DFW area is sounding pretty good right now...that's half my "super off peak" rate with SCE

 

[TCHB]

It sounds like they are going to up the demand charge also. Demand fee is the highest one time usage over a period of time. Lets say your air conditioner starts, dishwasher starts, wife starts her hair dryer and your compressor starts all at the same time. That amount will set the demand fee for the month or quarter. I have seen many times the demand fee higher than the energy consumed.

 

[TCHB]

Actual solar electricity production in the United States is 50% higher than previous estimates, according to new analysis by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and kWh Analytics.
All told, analysts found that solar energy systems in the U.S. generated 30.4 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in the 12 months ending in March 2015. Three states - California, Arizona, and Hawaii ? can now say that solar provides more than 5% of their total annual electricity demand.

The new estimate includes generation from behind-the-meter solar systems, which is not included in estimates produced by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA uses solar power generation information collected with their Form 923 survey, which only applies to utility-scale power plants that have more than 1,000 kW in solar generation capacity (i.e. are larger than 1,000 kWac). Given that the average solar PV system that you will find on the rooftops of houses in the U.S. has just 5 kWac of generation capacity, the electricity that they produce is not captured in EIA statistics.

 

[OCMerrill]

Read that as well. Behind the scenes, they are trying to make up for $$ lost when customers move to solar.

They are driving them to it. This is what they don't get. Like $4 gas....The Saudis finally figured out that deal and Crude oil has stayed 50-60's and will continue to do so. They have nothing else to sell.

Next up monthly fees to have solar.

 

[TCHB]

And

Long Term Power Purchase Agreements with the power suppliers that are very expensive.
Pay the costs to retire SONGS early and the $800 million retro fit costs.

Spent too much on capital projects (in the rates for up to 20 years).
Heavy overheads

 

[Ol Man]

Let's see:

1. No water. Conserve. No income. Raise rates to capture the same revenue as before rationing.

2. Power. Too much solar. Not enough income. See above.

3. Roads. Crappy and getting crappier. Raise gas taxes. Raise registration fees. Institute a mileage tax. Figure out how to tax the electric car folk.

4. Go full bore on Brown's choo choo train.

Is this a political post??

 

[TCHB]

Let's see:

1. No water. Conserve. No income. Raise rates to capture the same revenue as before rationing.

2. Power. Too much solar. Not enough income. See above.

3. Roads. Crappy and getting crappier. Raise gas taxes. Raise registration fees. Institute a mileage tax. Figure out how to tax the electric car folk.

4. Go full bore on Brown's choo choo train.

Is this a political post??

No
SCE rates were on the rise since May 15 of 1998.

 

[Boat 405]

Let's see:

1. No water. Conserve. No income. Raise rates to capture the same revenue as before rationing.

2. Power. Too much solar. Not enough income. See above.

3. Roads. Crappy and getting crappier. Raise gas taxes. Raise registration fees. Institute a mileage tax. Figure out how to tax the electric car folk.

4. Go full bore on Brown's choo choo train.

Is this a political post??

Elections have consequences. When people vote in a liberal super majority. This is what you get... If you are surprised you haven't been paying attention.

 

[TCHB]

Elections have consequences. When people vote in a liberal super majority. This is what you get... If you are surprised you haven't been paying attention.

Mandated Deregulated started the ball rolling.

 

[rivrrts429]

Elections have consequences. When people vote in a liberal super majority. This is what you get... If you are surprised you haven't been paying attention.

Bingo! 30+ years of liberal legislature control.

Anyone feel like they're keeping more of their earned money or less lol.

 

[rivrrts429]

Let's see:

1. No water. Conserve. No income. Raise rates to capture the same revenue as before rationing.

2. Power. Too much solar. Not enough income. See above.

3. Roads. Crappy and getting crappier. Raise gas taxes. Raise registration fees. Institute a mileage tax. Figure out how to tax the electric car folk.

4. Go full bore on Brown's choo choo train.

Is this a political post??

You forgot California's answer to immigration = open borders.

 

[OCMerrill]

You forgot California's answer to immigration = open borders.

The fence won't latch. Because of all the non-citizen programs we can't afford to fix the latch.

 

[TCHB]

I am going boating Friday!!

 

[TCHB]

PUC approves big changes in state's electricity rate system today on a holiday Friday.


Get ready by November things will be changing upward!

 

[DogNamedChevy]

Sheeezzz...the energy market is so fickle. At times, if we turn on the Red Mtn. Hydroelectric plant (MWD), we would have to pay for the electricity it produced!