3 ms·
> On March 27, an administrative law judge published a proposed decision that, if approved in May, will impose a new fixed $24.18 monthly charge on residential
by mcbishop 2y ago
> On March 27, an administrative law judge published a proposed decision that, if approved in May, will impose a new fixed $24.18 monthly charge on residential customers not eligible for low-income discounts.
To not only end solar net metering but then to have a significant charge even for low-import solar/battery sites... ugh. I hope this doesn't go through.
- toss1 2y agoSeems like an excellent incentive for people who can afford it to install sufficient solar panels and batteries to just drop the grid connection. Especially combined with what I've read about many-months-long delays to hookup installed systems, while your brand new panels sit there providing zero watts.
- lazide 2y agoMany/most cities will red tag your house (aka condemn as uninhabitable) if you don’t have an active grid connection. Which does make sense in a way - they can’t tell if whatever your off grid setup is actually is working or has adequate capacity, but they can tell if your local utility connection is working and up (and up to standards). And renters have needs. And medical equipment, basic fire safety stuff/lights, heat, etc. are generally required for habitability. Almost every panel should have breakers that can be tripped to manually disconnect the feed from the utility though, if you don’t want to have to worry about being charged for electricity (beyond ‘grid connection’ fees, which aren’t going away).
- LinuxBender 2y agoPerhaps they meant to switch off the main breakers. There would still be a monthly fee but I don't know how much it would be.
- lazide 2y agoYeah, edited that in before I saw your comment. Apologies!
- LinuxBender 2y agoYeah, edited that in before I saw your comment. Apologies! No need to apologize. I could be entirely wrong as to what they meant.
- lazide 2y agoYou aren’t, I was apologizing for seemingly stealing your comment out from under you.
- mcbishop 2y agoIn a case where the monthly grid-connection fee is exorbitant... ideally someone can get their off-grid system permitted by the city (to verify that it meets minimum requirements).
- hedora 2y agoI think the meter reconnection fee for pg&e is something like $75 in our area. I think that means you could close your account, bet they don’t change the rules, then reopen the account before selling the house. I imagine they’ll change the rules if this becomes common. Electricity service is so bad here that our house needs to be off-grid capable regardless of whether we pay them.
- toss1 2y agoYes, and that needs to stop. An off-grid setup should still be subject to all the applicable building and electrical codes, inspections, etc., and perhaps extra checkups on battery health. But once it is installed, running, and inspected, it should be like any other household. I'm personally flabbergasted that a basic solar installation (e.g., 2 kw+) hasn't been required on every house for national defense, just as the impetus for the interstate highway system national defense (and obviously now maintained for the commerce it enables). In a grid collapse scenario, the difference it would make to have every house with even small stand-alone capability (just enough for a refrigerator, communication, some lighting, etc.) vs millions just in the dark, would be enormous. But here we are, just shoveling $$billions to the grid operators.
- lazide 2y agoThe utilities do have better lobbyists.
- miguelazo 2y agoTheir fat margins can easily afford them. And in a lot of cases, they can pass the cost along right to the ratepayers! There are some bills looking to outlaw the funding mechanism, at least. But a lot of these utilities are part of a larger holding shell company, so the laws will have to be creative.