3 ms·

SCE is trying to shift people to time of use rates. The problem is the time of use rates are terrible, and will be more expensive to anyone who normally stays

SCE is trying to shift people to time of use rates. The problem is the time of use rates are terrible, and will be more expensive to anyone who normally stays within tier one rates of the old plan. I'd end up paying about 30% more for power under any of their time of use rate plans even assuming I only use power in off peak times, despite owning a plug in hybrid. If you stay within their tier one rates on the old plan, the new time-of-use-plans just aren't priced acceptably.

rconti 6y ago
As someone without A/C, switching to TOU saved quite a bit of money (relatively speaking; my bills were not very large to begin with).
- icedistilled 6y ago
  Interesting. I also don't have AC nor do I ever exceed tier 1 pricing. I thought time of use would be much more beneficial for someone who gets into tier 2 pricing if they can shift their use away from peak hours, making all their power at the cheapest rate. Right now my tier 1 cost is $0.21/kwh, the TOU plans are $0.25/kwh off peak, $0.5/kwh peak, but there is a $0.08/kwh credit for within tier 1 usage. Mathed out it's still more expensive.
  - rconti 6y ago
    ouch! And, of course, even if TOU was cheaper when I switched, that doesn't mean it doesn't become unfavorable next time rates change. We're grandfathered into a plan that gives us peak hours of 1-7pm where the new plans are 4-9pm peak. This works great for us with solar, because we make huge generation credits in that 1-4pm range when nobody's home to use power. (or, nobody WAS home before COVID). And we start our evening energy usage after 7pm as we return home from work + outdoor 'after work' activities. The 9pm end for peak hours would definitely hurt us. OTOH, we have an EV now, so even charging off-peak at, say, 18c is relatively expensive vs the really cheap EV plans that give you good overnight rates. We've got an 11.5kW charger so I'd really love a stupid-cheap rate between, say, 2-4am. But if we switch to an EV plan, the costs go up the rest of the day. Another perverse thing I've found; your net metering credits under NEM2.0 are on a per-month basis. This is AWESOME in the summer when we generate solar credit at more than 2x the 'value' as we burn them charging the car at off-peak.. but in the winter, when we don't generate much, we get into tier 2 pretty damn quickly.
WalterBright 6y ago
Fixed pricing 24/7 is going to wind up costing everyone much more due to the mismatch between supply & demand.

rconti 6y ago

As someone without A/C, switching to TOU saved quite a bit of money (relatively speaking; my bills were not very large to begin with).

icedistilled 6y ago
Interesting. I also don't have AC nor do I ever exceed tier 1 pricing. I thought time of use would be much more beneficial for someone who gets into tier 2 pricing if they can shift their use away from peak hours, making all their power at the cheapest rate. Right now my tier 1 cost is $0.21/kwh, the TOU plans are $0.25/kwh off peak, $0.5/kwh peak, but there is a $0.08/kwh credit for within tier 1 usage. Mathed out it's still more expensive.
- rconti 6y ago
  ouch! And, of course, even if TOU was cheaper when I switched, that doesn't mean it doesn't become unfavorable next time rates change. We're grandfathered into a plan that gives us peak hours of 1-7pm where the new plans are 4-9pm peak. This works great for us with solar, because we make huge generation credits in that 1-4pm range when nobody's home to use power. (or, nobody WAS home before COVID). And we start our evening energy usage after 7pm as we return home from work + outdoor 'after work' activities. The 9pm end for peak hours would definitely hurt us. OTOH, we have an EV now, so even charging off-peak at, say, 18c is relatively expensive vs the really cheap EV plans that give you good overnight rates. We've got an 11.5kW charger so I'd really love a stupid-cheap rate between, say, 2-4am. But if we switch to an EV plan, the costs go up the rest of the day. Another perverse thing I've found; your net metering credits under NEM2.0 are on a per-month basis. This is AWESOME in the summer when we generate solar credit at more than 2x the 'value' as we burn them charging the car at off-peak.. but in the winter, when we don't generate much, we get into tier 2 pretty damn quickly.

WalterBright 6y ago

Fixed pricing 24/7 is going to wind up costing everyone much more due to the mismatch between supply & demand.