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In the first six months of owning a solar PV system, we finally had an overage of kWh produced in April. For the month, we had a scant 83 extra kWh put onto the grid over what we used from it. Our s. eastern PA utility company, PECO, is our provider. Currently, the billing system does not show those kWh known as "banked" kWh units.
I called PECO today to ask where they go. After being transferred to four people, a lady in the commercial division helped me out. She actually knew what solar PV was and what was going on.
See, they use a spreadsheet. Yes, a spreadsheet. To track banked kWh on solar accounts. This is gleaned from their monthly billing cycle. Even though this is residential, the solar rate plan is handled by the commercial department. Apparently, every June or July, they true up any sum total of banked kWh and credit the accounts. Looks like I have a $22 credit coming. Somehow.
While I had her on the phone. I asked "what's up with the smart meter program?"
PECO received $200 million from the DoE to help with the deployment of smart meters to hundreds of thousands of customers. What will they do with them? Not sure. However, she said that no special time of use rate plan is coming just yet. Simply moving to smart meters is the current goal. Then they will actually figure out what to do with them. Initially, what they want to do is handle things like shutting off people's AC during peak load periods in the summer under our Act 129. Micro rolling warmouts, I call them. You're not blacked out, just have your AC shut off for 15 minute periods to limit peak load.
Spreadsheets and smart meters. This is what we have in our high tech region of SE PA. If I lived five miles west of here, my kWh rate would be .05 less per kWh and would be from a different electricity provider area. Definitely wouldn't have gone with solar with that much of a lower rate.
I called PECO today to ask where they go. After being transferred to four people, a lady in the commercial division helped me out. She actually knew what solar PV was and what was going on.
See, they use a spreadsheet. Yes, a spreadsheet. To track banked kWh on solar accounts. This is gleaned from their monthly billing cycle. Even though this is residential, the solar rate plan is handled by the commercial department. Apparently, every June or July, they true up any sum total of banked kWh and credit the accounts. Looks like I have a $22 credit coming. Somehow.
While I had her on the phone. I asked "what's up with the smart meter program?"
PECO received $200 million from the DoE to help with the deployment of smart meters to hundreds of thousands of customers. What will they do with them? Not sure. However, she said that no special time of use rate plan is coming just yet. Simply moving to smart meters is the current goal. Then they will actually figure out what to do with them. Initially, what they want to do is handle things like shutting off people's AC during peak load periods in the summer under our Act 129. Micro rolling warmouts, I call them. You're not blacked out, just have your AC shut off for 15 minute periods to limit peak load.
Spreadsheets and smart meters. This is what we have in our high tech region of SE PA. If I lived five miles west of here, my kWh rate would be .05 less per kWh and would be from a different electricity provider area. Definitely wouldn't have gone with solar with that much of a lower rate.
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