New APS rate plans are good for solar!

[basslure]

Not sure what you mean by 'change anything' - I did have to change a couple things due to APS Engineering request (EIT red-line demands, 3 mo after approval actually) and I upgraded my wire size to meet code and changed my breaker size to protect the increased wire size. So yes I have changed things but the size of the system has remained the same.Because of the EIT delays I asked for a deadline extension and was told OK- but I may not need it as the electrician did the hookups yesterday and I only have a few nitnoids to finish before calling for inspection. Then to see about the tax credit forms....

I mean if you change your APS plan from standard or whatever you currently have to one of their new 6 plans. That will void your 20 year grandfathering.

[J.P.M.]

Being grandfathered into net metering sounds like a good thing. I sure like the simplicity of it myself. If the utility is offering you a voluntary switch to a different arrangement, then it's in their interests for you to do so. They're not going to offer you something that costs them more on average and in the long run.

An aside: Considering how much electrical power is consumed in Phoenix by air conditioners that are cranking away more during the day than at night, I would think that rooftop solar will ultimately be viewed as a useful resource by the utilities. They can't expand Palo Verde, and the water levels are dropping at the big hydro dams. Meanwhile, it's getting ever hotter and the population there never seems to stop growing.

PV might be viewed by the POCO as having some marginal and perhaps additional benefit, but only in combination with some on site or local storage of the PV generated power to bridge the gap between max. PV generation times of mid day and max. grid demand times of late afternoon/early evening.

I don't see much on the demand side that would change the POCO's view of the current situation, or their opinion with respect to distributed, or for that matter central PV unless storage could help flatten the demand curve, and that could be done without PV.

[BackwoodsEE]

Being grandfathered into net metering sounds like a good thing. I sure like the simplicity of it myself. If the utility is offering you a voluntary switch to a different arrangement, then it's in their interests for you to do so. They're not going to offer you something that costs them more on average and in the long run.

An aside: Considering how much electrical power is consumed in Phoenix by air conditioners that are cranking away more during the day than at night, I would think that rooftop solar will ultimately be viewed as a useful resource by the utilities. They can't expand Palo Verde, and the water levels are dropping at the big hydro dams. Meanwhile, it's getting ever hotter and the population there never seems to stop growing.

[Syberdog]

Remember if you switch anything now APS will void your 20 year grandfathering. Currently you are guaranteed to be paid at full retail for 20 years. If you switch it's 10 years and then an unknown number that gets lower after 10 years.

Not sure what you mean by 'change anything' - I did have to change a couple things due to APS Engineering request (EIT red-line demands, 3 mo after approval actually) and I upgraded my wire size to meet code and changed my breaker size to protect the increased wire size. So yes I have changed things but the size of the system has remained the same.Because of the EIT delays I asked for a deadline extension and was told OK- but I may not need it as the electrician did the hookups yesterday and I only have a few nitnoids to finish before calling for inspection. Then to see about the tax credit forms....

[Kingram]

https://www.svssolutions.com/hubfs/S...a-166e6927262f You can figure out how much your Arizona APS Electric bill will go up each month with the new rate plans that start May 1st with this Analyzer.

[basslure]

I got my APS application approved June 30th so I just got in under the wire (pun...so to speak) in anticipation of getting on the old net metering plan for the next 20 years.- do you recommend staying that course or switching to a new plan? I have until Feb to finish my project (6kW ground mount system - Cochise County)

Remember if you switch anything now APS will void your 20 year grandfathering. Currently you are guaranteed to be paid at full retail for 20 years. If you switch it's 10 years and then an unknown number that gets lower after 10 years.

[azdave]

I say it would be a very rare instance where the the new rules for RE customers would be a benefit over keeping the old. In CA it seems like you need an advanced math degree to figure it all out.

I'm in Phoenix but with SRP instead of APS. I'm extremely fortunate that I'm grandfathered under the pre-2014 SRP plans. No TOU for me. All energy credits go into one bucket to be used anytime I desire for up to one year. TOU was far worse as I banked way too much off-peak energy and hardy any on-peak was ever banked. You also could not swap one for the other, ever. The annual account zeroing in April results in enough cash credit that I don't even pay a connection fee until November. The rest of the year I pay $21 monthly for the connection.

Today, with the plans offered for RE customers by either APS or SRP, I would not install solar. The payback is far too long and solar was a financial decision for me.

[solarix]

Go ahead and get your system grandfathered, see how your bill runs for awhile and then you'll be better able to evaluate if the new rates are better.

[Syberdog]

I got my APS application approved June 30th so I just got in under the wire (pun...so to speak) in anticipation of getting on the old net metering plan for the next 20 years.- do you recommend staying that course or switching to a new plan? I have until Feb to finish my project (6kW ground mount system - Cochise County)

[J.P.M.]

Sounds like good news. Any suggestions as to a method how Joe/Jane 6 pack can might be able to estimate an annual bill, or ways to avoid demand charges ?

[solarix]

I've been working on analyzing the newly published APS rate plans here in the north half of Arizona.
You can stay grandfathered on your old rate plan, but from now on - these are the only residential choices.
The on peak hours have changed from noon - 7pm to 3pm - 8pm shifting the bulk of typical solar production out of the peak time and therefore less valuable.
I'm not sure how the demand charges work - whether they are figured on-peak or off-peak, but in general rates with demand charges are to be avoided like the plague.
The really good news is the "RCP" rate (Resource Comparison Proxy export rate) - that is what they are replacing net-metering with, is an unbelievable 12.9 cents/kWh!
If you can get on the Lite rate or the Premier rate by getting your average usage low enough, then APS will actually be paying you more for your exported solar power than you are paying them for theirs!
Of course the taxes and surcharges will negate any "profit", and I don't know if there will be withholding taxes or something on the RCP payments, but to find that the utility is actually going to pay a full value for excess solar generation means the solar industry here in Arizona will continue strong.

I'd like to hear from anyone in APS territory who has already switched to these rates and what the details of their billing look like.

APS RATES	LITE	PREMIER	PREM LG	SAVER	SAVER+	SAVERMX
	<600KwH	<1000kWh	>1000kWh	3-8pm	+Demand	Max
STD DAILY CHARGE	0.3290	0.4930	0.6580	0.4270	0.4270	0.4270
STD 0-600 kWHr	0.1167	0	0			0.0000
STD 600-1000 kWHr	0	0.1239	0			0.0000
STD >1000 kWHr	0	0	0.1341			0.0000
SUMMER ON PEAK		0.17892	0.24477	0.24314	0.1316	0.08683
SUMMER OFF PEAK		0.0577	0.06118	0.10873	0.07798	0.0523
SUMMER DEMAND				0	8.4	17.438
STD WINTER
WINTER ON PEAK		0.14533	0.19847	0.23068	0.11017	0.06376
WINTER OFF PEAK		0.05561	0.06116	0.10973	0.07798	0.0523
WINTER DEMAND				0	8.4	12.239