PG&E Data Looks Off

[Stratton_Oakmont]

I have an 8.5 kW systems with Enphase micro inverters. I have not checked my PG&E account since Spring, but when I recently did, I was surprised to see that I already owed money at true-up. which is not until April. I have had the system for about six years and I've always run a surplus, especially during the summer months. During prior true-ups, I normally have a ~$200 surplus. Nothing has changed in my household this year in terms of appliances or electric cars. I am baffled by how I already owe money to PG&E. If you look at the attached pictures, I took a snapshot of July 2022 vs. July 2023. I picked a 10-day range where I was on vacation both years (same time in July), so not much power was being consumed. It looks to me like PG&E is miscalculating how much power I am sending to them. According to my Enphase app, I am generating almost the same year-over-year in July.

My solar installer says the solar system is working normally. PG&E came out to test my meter and said the meter was working fine. At this point, I don't know what's going on. PG&E's answer is "you must be consuming more power this year." This is not true as again, nothing has changed. I understand PG&E's rates have changed, I'm not questioning the dollar amount, rather I'm questing the raw power used vs. produced.

Anyone have any ideas as to what might be going on? It's almost like I either have a leaky pipe or PG&E is wrong.

Screenshot 2023-10-02 at 9.32.53 AM.pngScreenshot 2023-10-02 at 9.33.05 AM.pngScreenshot 2023-10-02 at 9.33.17 AM.png

[J.P.M.]

Since you're asking, a couple of ideas:

This one's a long shot but in the past, maybe 5-6 years ago (?) the CA I.O.U.'s were fooling with NEM policies and rates as they always seem to be doing.
Most existing customers were "offered" something called "grandfathered" rates that were to run for a few years. Those rates were somewhere between the old NEM 1 rates and (at the time) the new NEM 2 rates with sort of like "in between" rates to serve as an incentive to get as many users as possible off tiered rates and on to T.O.U. rates.

I had thought the grandfathering period expired around July 2022 or so but I could sure be wrong on that.
Anyway if a user didn't positively "elect" in writing (by filling out a form and mailing it to the POCO) to stay on tiered rates, you got switched to the grandfathered T.O.U. rates which had that not to exceed expiration date.
Now, if you were one of those users, your rates took a jump when the grandfathering rates expired for you and you are now feeling/seeing the effects.
Many users in SDG & E territory - my HOA neighbors among them - never took the time to find out what was going on - indeed - never even had a clue what was happening the way the POCO pulled it off, got switched and got a surprise.

As for your short period of billing monitoring, I'd suggest that's too short a period to draw any conclusions.
Maybe the A/C got left on ?
I'd go back and get daily by day for the last 2 years comparing similar days' usage and look for patterns.
And/Or, get a kill-a-watt meter and check all the devices in the house for usage.

You may have a faulty device that's using power and you don't know it or some new appliances that get left on.
I've got a lot of paranoid neighbors that added a lot of outside security lighting and were surprised at how much a few hundred W of lights burning at night can cost. the.

Q: What's the grey line at the top of the Enphase graph ? Last year's daily generation ?

[Stratton_Oakmont]

Yes, the grey line is last year's solar production, 1.6 MWh vs 1.5 MWh this year. Slight drop in production but I don't think it's enough to warrant the large increase in usage from PG&E. Here are the year-over-year comparisons from PG&E. The A/C/ is running on the same schedule as always. I had that installed about 5 years ago, everything got replaced top-to-bottom and the schedule is the same. It's also in vacation mode when we are traveling.

I was on the old EV-A plan but last year (I think), PG&E told me I could no longer be on that plan so I had to pick a new one. When I compared their 'expected true-up' guide, the T.O.U. was the lowest. I'd like to understand what is drawing all this extra power, any suggestions for what to get for monitoring this?

Screenshot 2023-10-02 at 8.05.07 PM.png

[J.P.M.]

Well, if your installer says all's well with your system and PG & E says your meter's running as it should and you're being billed for more usage in kWh over comparable billing periods of reasonable length - like 12 months or so, and not just a week or two - what's left is that the difference between what you generate and what you use has increased.

That increase can come from 2 sources: greater usage by you, or less generation, or some combination of the two.
If the usage is similar but the $$ amount of your billing over the same comparable periods has increased then the average cost you pay per kWh has probably increased though a combination of general rate hikes and/*or plan changes.

Without more information it's not possible for me to offer more than that. Perhaps others have some methods of analysis I'm ignorant about.

Good Luck.

[scrambler]

Does your emphase system includes a monitoring of your import / export from / to grid?

If not, you need to install your own monitoring, like the Emporia Vue, so that you can compare what you measure as import / export to grid versus what PG&E says you import / export.

The emporia Vue will also allow you to monitor house loads which may help identify if you have something using more than it should.

[Stratton_Oakmont]

Does your emphase system includes a monitoring of your import / export from / to grid?

If not, you need to install your own monitoring, like the Emporia Vue, so that you can compare what you measure as import / export to grid versus what PG&E says you import / export.

The emporia Vue will also allow you to monitor house loads which may help identify if you have something using more than it should.

It does not include a monitoring system but I will invest in Emporia Vue to see what's hogging all the power. Thanks for the tip!

[scrambler]

This is a quick write up I did a while back here. The system allowed me to diagnose a major issue I was having with my system, and is now the core of my monitoring.

I recently found myself in need of a more complete, more precise and with better data download monitoring system than what my Solar system provides.
I was looking at power meters and data loggers when I came across an affordable system with impressive capabilities. It is called the Vue Gen 2 from Emporia Energy.

*** The system: ***
-----------------------------
- It can monitor classic Split phase or three phase system with 2 or 3 directional 200A CTs that record both Grid Import and Export for solar system.
- It also has up to 16 x 50A Cts (precise up to 64Amp monitoring) to monitor any loads in your panel(s). CTs are quite precise (+/- 1%).
- The system measure Amps, Voltage and Phase for accurate power calculation, and reports through a mobile App where you can see real time second / minutes / hours / days interval data or graphs.
- For Dual Pole loads, you can put one CT per line or monitor a single line and use a multiplier in the App (if the Loads are balanced and it is precise enough for you).
- It lets you download the last 3 hours of seconds’ data, 30 days of Minutes’ data, and unlimited amount of hourly data.
- The system with 2 x 200A and 16 x 50 A CTs is about $150, no subscription required.

Installation was a breeze (except for fitting all 18 CTs in my somewhat cramped panel J). I have been using it for a week, and so far the data is very accurate. One drawback, right now, is that the 50A CTs are not reporting directional values, so the values from the CTs on the Solar line only have one sign. This means it won’t make the difference between Solar providing power to the panel, or Solar drawing from the panels (if it has its own loads or charges a battery from grid when there is not enough solar).
I was told the HW can do it, and it is only a matter of Firmware implementation that is planned in the near future.

*** My usage: ***
----------------------------
I have a Hybrid Inverter with battery, and following some problems with the inverter last year, the provider removed 2 of the 20 panels, and put them on Micro inverters separate from the main Hybrid Inverter / battery system.
I have a Sub panel with its own ATS for all the 15/20A house loads that switches automatically to the inverter in case of an outage.
Left in my house panel are 8 Dual pole breakers for heavy loads:
- The Critical Load Sub panel Dryer
- Electric Oven
- AC
- Two EVSE dual pole breakers
- Main Inverter Breaker
- IQ7+ Micro Inverters Breaker

Having this new monitoring system, I get to monitor the 2 panels on Micro Inverters, to measure the Efficiency of the main Inverter, and to monitor the full house consumption.
In addition I get excellent data download which my system did not provide.

[SamirD]

Great to hear about the Emporia Vue! My enphase system also doesn't have the monitoring installed and I haven't considered installing it due to the expense and installation headache. But the Vue seems pretty easy.

And one thing I saw that Emporia makes that I'm probably going to get is their 'Utility Connect' that lets you get meter data in realtime from the meter:
https://shop.emporiaenergy.com/colle...tility-connect

It only works for certain meters and has to be set up in the utility account on the utility side too, but seems a great way to 'read your meter' without physically having to go look at it.

[bcroe]

I had a situation like that with my well. The plastic pipe had split just above
the pump, where the pressure is greatest. The pump still provided some
pressure, but not enough to trigger the switch, so it ran continuously. It
was a while before I noticed the problem. Bruce Roe

[SamirD]

I had a situation like that with my well. The plastic pipe had split just above
the pump, where the pressure is greatest. The pump still provided some
pressure, but not enough to trigger the switch, so it ran continuously. It
was a while before I noticed the problem. Bruce Roe

Wrong thread Bruce?

[J.P.M.]

I had a situation like that with my well. The plastic pipe had split just above
the pump, where the pressure is greatest. Bruce Roe

Well, that's what you can expect when using plastic pipe.

[bcroe]

Well, that's what you can expect when using plastic pipe.

Yes seems to have become the standard. I had never seen the pipe
before, the previous owner did the well. Bruce Roe

[J.P.M.]

Yes seems to have become the standard. I had never seen the pipe
before, the previous owner did the well. Bruce Roe

Yea, and left the created problem to you.
That plastic pipe thing didn't seem to me like something you'd do and so pussy out on.

[bcroe]

Wrong thread Bruce?

Coming late, I should use quotes. Bruce Roe

WellRepr.JPG

[Rade]

Coming late, I should use quotes. Bruce Roe

WellRepr.JPG

"That's NOT the Port-a-John!"