California Public Utilities Commission looking to change rates

[sensij]

Thanks to forum member zazaag, I was able to find SDG&E's proposed rates based on the rate reform decision last month. They can be found at the link below, and should represent an OK guess at rates for solar planning, at least until 2019 when TOU rate plans will become the billing default. However, tiered plans should still be available for opt-in. The actual rates will be determined through the GRC Phase ii proceeding, so that will is still worth following.

SDG&E

http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M153/K144/153144709.PDF

PG&E (as found by zazaag)

http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M152/K961/152961304.PDF

I haven't read it closely enough to know why SCE didn't have a filing at the same time. Really, though, it would be wise for anyone considering solar to start learning about TOU plans and understanding their consumption patterns well enough to know under what conditions TOU works out better than tiers.

[Yaryman]

Sensij,

Thanks for confirming.

I realize guessing one's energy use for a particular month is a crap shoot, but my electricity usage falls as the days get shorter and as my electrical generation would fall.

The only exception to that is usually in December as my electricity use spikes because of the cold and heating the house. The heat is gas, but it takes a ton of electricity to push that hot air around.

[sensij]

Yeah, although predicting the amount generated each month to that level of precision is not really possible, and even then, the amount generated each month is not the same. If you consumed the same amount each month, and targeted undergenerating consumption by 50 kWh in the summer, you might be undergenerating by 250 kWh in the winter. Unfortunately, the monthly minimum is determined for each month individually (not for the year overall), so the best case probably means you end up with a few months paying the minimum and the rest of the time paying a little bit more than that.

[Yaryman]

As others have mentioned, that certainly changes the calculations on how many panels to get.

And as I am about to buy a solar system, the number of panels I need just went down.

If my math is correct, at the current bottom tier and with the new minimum payment, I want to generate 61 kwh less than I use.

61 x 16.35¢ = $9.98 against a $10 minimum.

Even with a price increase to 20¢, I still want to generate 50 kwh less.

What a brilliant plan.

[sensij]

Is that $10 minimum just for the Electric portion of the bill?

Yes. Gas bill doesn't count.

[Yaryman]

Is that $10 minimum just for the Electric portion of the bill?

[schpen]

thanks for this super helpful hint!

The built in search in the forum software is next to useless.
A far better method is to use Google search and include site:solarpaneltalk.com as an additional search term.

Thanks inetdog - this is the best way to search forums in general. Much appreciated.

[ericf1]

The minimum bill is hard cash, it can't be paid with net metering credits. It can be paid with the ~$0.04 / kWh excess generation credit (or whatever they call it) that gets paid out at the end of the year, but no one should really want to do that.

Also, as long as the semi-annual Climate Credit is applied to our bills, that $60-$70/year can be used to offset the $120/year minimum.

[sensij]

To be clear. Is that the new rate for only SDGE or all CA POCO's?

I'm not sure which rate you are talking about, but in general my comments are SDG&E specific. However, SCE and PG&E are also under CPUC oversight and generally subject to the same mandates, and the recent rate reform activity has put all three of them on a similar rate glide path with fewer tiers and less differential between the base tier and upper tier(s). All of them will also move to a default TOU billing plan by 2019, with instructions to make the tariffs and rate comparisons more transparent. We'll see.

Tangentially, in discussion of the successor to net metering, it is becoming clear that under current assumptions, PG&E's rates will not be increasing as sharply as SDG&E and SCE over the intermediate term. This results in the model showing less solar uptake in PG&E areas. It is a little perverse, but there are some in the solar industry that seem to be rooting for higher electricity rates, since the end result is likely to be more sales for them.

[J.P.M.]

To be clear. Is that the new rate for only SDGE or all CA POCO's?

AB 327 mandated the changes for the I.O.U.'s (the big 3 - SCE, PG & E and SDG & E) - Investor Owned Utilities. Other/smaller POCOs may/may not follow along.

[SunEagle]

Yeah, one other thread on the topic:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?22046-SDGE-New-Rate-Info-Posted-on-Website

The minimum bill is hard cash, it can't be paid with net metering credits. It can be paid with the ~$0.04 / kWh excess generation credit (or whatever they call it) that gets paid out at the end of the year, but no one should really want to do that.

To be clear. Is that the new rate for only SDGE or all CA POCO's?

[sensij]

few things which were passed in CA
1) min bill of $10/month
2) E6 will be slowly phased out over 5 years. people can still opt for it before end of year
3) two tiers instead of current 4

anyone knows if overage (difference in day rate vs night rate) can be used to offset min bill ? if not, then probably I will install additional air conditioner.. LOL..

Yeah, one other thread on the topic:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?22046-SDGE-New-Rate-Info-Posted-on-Website

The minimum bill is hard cash, it can't be paid with net metering credits. It can be paid with the ~$0.04 / kWh excess generation credit (or whatever they call it) that gets paid out at the end of the year, but no one should really want to do that.

[sparkle]

few things which were passed in CA
1) min bill of $10/month
2) E6 will be slowly phased out over 5 years. people can still opt for it before end of year
3) two tiers instead of current 4

anyone knows if overage (difference in day rate vs night rate) can be used to offset min bill ? if not, then probably I will install additional air conditioner.. LOL..

[sensij]

The 5% cap has not been hit yet. For SDG&E, it looks like 1 year or less until it is reached. For SCE, it looks unlikely to get hit before the July 1, 2017 deadline, which is the hard stop for net metering availability in its current form. PG&E might be in early 2017. You can follow monthly reports on the cap in this thread.

Whatever replaces net metering is unlikely to be as favorable as the current agreement. It isn't clear yet what it will be.

[FUN4ME]

Thanks for the replies, I figured you guy's would be more in the know.

So going forward in time, is solar going to become less attractive than it is today?
I have friends that want to go solar, should I tell them to hurry and get it done?

Also do you know about when the 5% cap was met, I was one of the last to get the CSI rebates.

Thanks again Erich