Would you share the economics or math calculations for your system?
Do you use your power company for energy storage like I do?
While you are grandfathered how much are they “paying” you for the excess electricity you sell to them?
In my case during the summer it’s $0.53 kWhr. And then later in the day I can buy the electrons back for $0.13 kWhr. How does that compare to the rate plan you are on.
New solar customers and at the end of your grandfather term, which is probably in just several years how much will the power company pay you for that excess electricity?
In California new solar customers are being paid not $0.53 kWhr like I am, but just $0.15 kWhr. And then later in the day when the need to buy back the electricity they have to pay $0.47 kWhr.
Our power company has 13 different rate plans for customers. A Stanford professor created an app which allows you to compare how much you would pay for the 13 different rate plans. For the rate plan I am on right now I have $236.50 in energy credits with the power company. But once the grandfather period is over, (or if I just had solar installed on my house), I would be owing the power company $10.52.
If you do the math like I just did you will see people who install solar in California are getting screwed by installing solar. Having a credit of $236.50 vs having to pay $10.52 is why I say Californians are now going to get screwed for installing solar.
It would be interesting to hear from others who are grid tied to see if the power company is screwing them for going solar. If so, please show you math.
Economics and math--my bill was/would have been over $300 per month average and that's before buying an electric car. Now my annual bill is pretty close to zero, typically a small check or less than a hundred dollars due. The system cost 8 years ago was about $22K, $15K after tax credits etc. 30 panels with microinverters. It is grid tied with no storage, so yes I use SCE for 'storage'.
I'm on SCE plan TOU-D-A and last I knew, the numbers were about the same as what you are quoting. I have no idea when or if the plan expires, but if you have definite information on that, I'd like to see it.
The power company isn't screwing anyone. Right now I'm screwing them, to be honest. Whether a particular system works economically depends on all the circumstances and the characteristics of the system. You just have to do the math. At this point, even if the rate changes and I have to pay an electric bill, just the reduction in what that bill would be otherwise would be a significant benefit. Your bill would be $10.52? Try not having solar and see what it is. I don't know what plan you are quoting that requires solar users to 'buy back' the same electricity at $0.47/kWh, but I think the new strategy, as I said, requires storage so that you don't have to buy it back. Are you saying the rate is $0.47 at night? I haven't seen that.
I do a agree with you the power company isn't out there to screw anyone. They provide a product which I have the choice of buying or not. But here's why I think our power company is screwing "us".
1 - Can you name one other consumer product sold on the retail market that we you go to buy it is sold for 13 different prices? That's what our power company is doing. That would be like pulling into a gas station and seeing one gallon of gas is being sold for 13 different prices. It's the same gallon of gas, why should the public be charged 13 different prices at the same gas station?
2 - The power companies in California are a monopoly. My choices for powering my home are limited to one, the power company or producing my own power. All of the power companies purchase the electricity they sell from the grid and I would assume they all pay the same price. If I recall correctly, there are around 80 power companies in California. So why is in my power company charges me $0.53 kWhr when the power company next city over is charging $0.18. (And we are just 7 miles away.)
3 - But here's the way our power company is screwing or penalizing everyone who installs solar today. For people who installed solar last year they could be on a solar rate plan in which the power company "paid" residential customers between $0.12 to $0.53 kWhr for excess electricity. (Depending on the time during the day, weekday vs. weekend, and time of year.) This year if you install solar they are paying a flat $0.16. Follow these three scenarios.
With solar panels for the rate plan I am on right now at the end of the year I will have around $100 in energy credits with the power company. Not getting screwed here.
But if I were on the "new" rate plan which replaces the one I am right now. With the same electricity usage at the same time and same solar production on the "new" rate plan at the end of the year I will have to pay the power company over $900.
Now if I had not installed solar and was on my original rate plan with the same usage I was paying just under $2,000 per year.
This is why I'm saying if you install solar now your are getting screwed. Using my actual data.
If I did not install solar I would pay $2,000 for electricity for the year.
With a new solar system I would pay $900 plus the cost of the solar system.
With my existing system on my current rate plan I will have a $100 credit plus the cost of the solar system.
You are with SCE so I think you are just trading kWhrs with your power company. Am I correct? So when you have one excess kW you "give" it to the power company. And when you need a kWhr you can get it back.
In Northern California it's completely different. The power companies buys and sells the kWhr at the current market rate for the rate plan you are on. What this means is there are times when I can sell a kWhr to the power company for $0.53. Then when I need electricity later in the day instead of getting 1 kWhr back I get over 4.
I know our power company is the only one if the country doing this. (It's an experiment in progress.) But you had better believe the other power companies are watching this closely and will implement something sooner just as soon as they can. So while your panels are producing 100% of the electricity you consume right now just as soon as your grandfather period is over you might wind up paying $900 a year like I will have to.
That's my definition of the power company screwing people who install solar today.