4 ms·
The flipside to the dud deal you claim these solar owning householders get is that they are not paying their full share for the grid connectivity that they need
by fian 11y ago
The flipside to the dud deal you claim these solar owning householders get is that they are not paying their full share for the grid connectivity that they need to sell their excess electricity into.
The majority of the cost of retail electricity is the maintenance of the transmission network (>50%) (poles and wires)[1], with metering/billing being the next highest contributor (<20%). The cost of generation is around 20%.
Many of these householders with solar are paying very little or nothing for their grid connection. Thus they are being subsidised by the non-solar households for their ability to stay grid connected.
Household level batteries could change that scenario if they are good enough to allow complete disconnection from the grid.
If household level batteries are successful, then we will reach a point where it will not be economically viable to maintain the grid. Every house will then need to become self sufficient for electricity generation and storage.
[1] https://www.dews.qld.gov.au/energy-water-home/electricity/prices/tariffs-explained https://www.dews.qld.gov.au/energy-water-home/electricity/pr...
- jussij 11y ago> The majority of the cost of retail electricity is the maintenance of the transmission network I can't speak for the rest of the world, but here in Australia that's just not true, since the utility companies have a tendency to "gold plate" those grids. Here are some detail: http://www.smh.com.au/business/goldplating-the-power-grid-20120705-21iv5.html http://www.smh.com.au/business/goldplating-the-power-grid-20... When governments sold the grid to private enterprise they also allowed them to "gold plate" their systems and pass on the costs to the consumer. The result was massive increases in electricity prices. What those utility companies got wrong was thinking the consumer was a captive audience and would put up with those rip off prices. Those massive increases in electricity prices actually made solar an option, hence the massive addition rate in roof top solar here in Australia. What those utility companies have got wrong is the genie is now out of the bottle.