SDGE Standard (DR) NEM 1.0 Customer ... what's next?

[MoJ]

C1C2E952-B5AB-4BCA-B38C-BD7A76AED617.jpeg

yup ... I think I’ll stay where I’m at

kicking myself I didn’t go with the higher watt panels or find a spot for 3 more when we installed!

[Ampster]

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kicking myself I didn’t go with the higher watt panels or find a spot for 3 more when we installed!

If your goal is to reduce your bill without reducing your usage, an alternative would be to shift your usage and go with one of the TOU rates. That may not be feasible or desirable but for a few people it might be better than regretting that they don't have more capacity, It is also more complicated to analyze whether it is even practical.

[J.P.M.]

C1C2E952-B5AB-4BCA-B38C-BD7A76AED617.jpeg

yup ... I think I’ll stay where I’m at

kicking myself I didn’t go with the higher watt panels or find a spot for 3 more when we installed!

You can do your own analysis on your usage but it takes time and some digging. From what I've seen for me and a few neighbors, the SDG & E #'s seem reasonable but of limited use.

There are other tariffs options than those listed. Don't assume you are limited to TOU- DR1 or TOU-DR2. For example, because you have PV, there is DR-SES which is, at this time, un-tiered.

If you analyze it and calc. your own potential bills with other tariffs, you can see what the benefit/PITA of knocking back on peak time use.

Hard to SWAG, but if you can keep your draw from SDG & E < ~ 3,600 - ~ 4,000 kWh/yr., you'll pay ~ $0.26 - $0.28/kWh for all of it regardless of time of use. That's about the same rate as all the T.O.U. rates except the summer peak rates. So, any residential system that offsets >= ~ 3,600 kWh/yr. of the usage may well result in a lower annual electric bill on the old, tiered, non T.O.U. rates, particularly if that household has a lot of peak hour summertime usage. That looks like what you may be seeing in the SDG & E comparisons.

One reason among several, including a scenario as described above, why I'm staying on tiered rates is pretty cynical: If SDG & E and the other CA I.O.U's are breaking their asses to get everyone on T.O.U., that means it's more profitable for them. More profit for them probably means more cost to me. Besides, I don't have to wind up doing laundry at 3 A.M.

If I get an EV that may change. But, if I were buying PV now, I'd need to take the super off peak rates, whatever they are and take that lower per kWh cost into the LCOE calculus. If I'm paying a super low off peak rate like some T.O.U. tariffs impose, and I charge my EV at those rates, depending on the cost of electricity for that particular task, it may not make sense or be cost effective to add PV capacity to offset those particular super off peak rates.

[HCMarkus]

Additionally, I chatted with SDG&E just now and they confirmed that Standard (DR) will be available to me for 20 years from my PTO date.

I have confirmed this in SDG&E's written documentation, which provides:

If you activated your system before June 29, 2016 (called “NEM 1.0”) you can choose to remain on the tiered plan until the 20th anniversary of when your system was installed, or as long as the plan is available. If you are on a TOU plan with the peak period from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m., you will transition to the 4-9 p.m. peak period plan on the five-year anniversary date of your solar system’s activation. You have the option to revert to a non-TOU plan at any time and keep it until the 20th anniversary of your system activation.

https://www.sdge.com/whenmatters#FAQ

As I have hit the 5-year mark with my system and would not be reverting back to peak 11AM-6PM this year, I have switched back to DR for my system. I find it hard to imagine a scenario where any TOU program (with peak hours coinciding with my system's lowest/nonexistent output times) would be beneficial to me.

Folks have commented on SDG&E's apparent obfuscation. I just found a good example... when I access my account, SDG&E provides a highlighted note:

You're eligible to select or stay on a plan that includes on-peak hours of 11am to 6pm, noted with "G" in the plan name. Read Full Message

Reading the full message, the following additional sentence, and nothing more, is added to the note:

After May 7, 2020, the on-peak hours of 4pm to 9pm will apply to all Time of Use plans.

[Ampster]

........... I find it hard to imagine a scenario where any TOU program (with peak hours coinciding with my system's lowest/nonexistent output times) would be beneficial to me.
.........

That may be true for you.
Generation is only part of the equation.
I know nothing about your consumption patterns but I can imagine a consumption pattern where a TOU plan would be beneficial to someone else.

I am not criticizing your decision, but only making that comment for the benefit of others who may not have consumption patterns like yours. It all depends on where you are standing.