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If the grid costs are that high then there is something wrong with how they are maintaining the grid. The way I read it, Truckee Donner PUD charges a $21.33 connection charge and $0.1417/kWh. This is in a rural area of California with high fire danger. If they can maintain the grid for those...

With all the changes that have been made I'd like to see if anyone thinks the following operation is possible. I asked this question previously and the answer was no. During the hours of 4pm-9pm I'd like to run my house off solar with excess production going to the grid. If there isn't...

Yea, I keep swearing I would never trust them again and then I fall for something. But this would be the last time, I swear.

They're using too broad of a brush. In my case I initially installed 4kW of solar in 2009 and another 6kW in 2019. I was verbally told that my 20 year grandfathering would be reset to another 20 years starting in 2019. However, written documents imply that the 20 year grandfathering does not...

I'm going to say this again, this doesn't have to be that complicated. They need to throw out the old rate structures and have rate structures based on actual costs instead of artificially constructed rate structures if they expect credibility in the future. Have a fixed residential...

So, is retroactively reducing the grandfathering from 20 years to 15 years for existing NEM/NEM2 customers still in the NEM3 proposal?

I agree, how could they enforce requiring current solar owners to pay for installing a meter? I suppose they could assume a certain consumption amount and tell you to install a consumption meter if you disagree with the assumption.

There is a little more to the story. Tesla was supposed to provide a whole home backup and negation's finally settled on Tesla installing a 3rd Powerwall (series 3) at a reduced cost to handle the required current surge. I discovered the compressor had failed after I had already signed the...

My Carrier compressor was a Bristol 2 stage compressor that reverses direction when switching between high stage and low stage. The SureStart doesn't understand that type of operation. My HVAC system threw nearly 100 error codes (it is a microprocessor controlled communication system). When I...

Florida has implemented a $25 minimum monthly charge: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/fpl-florida-increases-minimum-monthly-bill-to-25-plus-taxes-and-fees.268735/#post-6767772 This would be an interesting approach for NEM 3. A minimum monthly charge could be set that would have no...

This is an interesting way to "tax" residents with solar. I assume this applies to everyone regardless of they have solar, storage, etc. At the top level it seems fair since it applies to everyone. But realistically it impacts people that have solar since most people without solar will...

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that the minimum monthly bill (MDC) you pay can be applied to the NBCs. So if you are a net producer your bill is MDCs + Surplus Credits - NBCs at True-Up.

I think of it as a tax on re-importing the energy you already have been credited for. You don't pay NBCs on exported energy that you don't re-import. And you don't pay NBCs on energy you use once you have exhausted your credit.

I have a 3rd Powerwall scheduled for installation on June 1. I currently have Grid Charging under my Advanced Options in the app. I wonder if I will fall through the cracks with Tesla and be able to keep grid charging. There is no mention of me having to switch from PS to MT in my...

This is the problem with artificial rate structures. If rates were structured to reflect the actual costs then any "gaming" wouldn't actually impact the power provider.

I agree that perhaps IOUs aren't the way but I do think it is possible if structured right. The government isn't known for its efficiency when they are responsible for everything. If the fixed cost connection cost approach is too high then California should look at other states. Other...

This is not that complicated. The problem is that the CPUC put policies in place that increased the cost of electricity and the IOUs structured the rates so that heavy users (i.e., wealthy) supported the grid and subsidized the poor. There used to be no alternatives for heavy users but now...

It would be interesting if they got to a point that if your house has solar that you are required to keep in maintained and connected.

If the CPUC imposes a fee structure in NEM 3 that makes it more cost effective for solar owners to not have solar then they need to have an easy way to allow decommissioning. As long as a solar system is operating properly it will probably be more cost effective to keep it going (unless they...

Powerwalls are warrantied for 37.8 MWh of aggregate throughput when not used for solar or backup. That gives you an idea of the design life of a Powerwall.

Unless NEM 3 is draconian as previously proposed and I wind up on NEM 3 in a couple of years.

For me, there is no financial justification for a 3rd Powerwall under NEM2 and current rates other than backup during outages, and the advantage of a 3rd Powerwall during outages is minimal.

I'm on the California FAIR plan because of wildfire risk which is expensive. So the increased premium for insuring the solar and Powerwalls is also costs more. That expense needs to be taken into account when you do your ROI calculation but the CPUC doesn't seem to recognize that expense when...

I agree. The charge should be based on how much energy you use and when you use it, and a fixed connection fee based on your peak consumption; and that should be the same for everyone regardless if they have solar or storage. If someone feeds power back to the grid the compensation should be...

My biggest fear is if the control board goes out since they are expensive. When I asked my dealer how much they cost he said he didn't know. If it failed within warranty they send him a replacement board. If it fails out of warranty he just replaces the whole unit.

I was thinking inverter compressors ran off DC motors but I guess they operate by shifting the voltage and frequency on an AC motor, so I guess the term "inverter" is correct for those systems.

I think it mainly has to do with wanting to operate the compressor at variable speeds. AC motors like to operate at a single speed. DC motors can efficiently operate at variable speeds. I have a zoned system so when only heating or cooling one zone the compressor will operate at a lower...

It's a long story but the short of it is my system was supposed to be a whole home backup but the SureStart start device Tesla installed wasn't compatible with my heat pump compressor and, as such, didn't operate properly. Tesla offered me a 3rd Powerwall at the discounted price to supply...

I'm in a unique situation where I have the opportunity to have a 3rd Powerwall installed on my whole house backup for ~$4400 which would be ~$3300 after ITC. I'm already a net producer so I only get reimbursed ~$0.03/kWh at True-Up. The ROI for any additional surplus doesn't justify the cost...

Yep, seems like a waste. At some point I will need to start replacing things (I already have a string inverter that is already over 10 years old). People will start making cost/benefit decisions on if they better off repairing a system, decommissioning a system, going off-grid (if possible)...

I did similar. If you call PG&E they will verbally tell you that that grandfathering goes off the latest PTO which is inconsistent with other documents. I asked for something in writing stating that and they refused. I filed a complaint with the CPUC and PG&E responded with an email stating...

Are they allowed to make a profit on preventative maintenance? They have crews all over the place trimming trees where I live. Could be a new profit strategy for them.

That is a very good question. I'll try to explain in an abbreviated answer as possible but it will probably just raise more questions. My whole home backup was supposed to include AC backup. However, the soft start device (SureStart) isn't compatible with my heat pump compressor. I've...

I have two Powerwalls and didn't take the ITC on them since they were SGIP. I'm considering adding a third Powerwall and take the ITC on it. Since I don't have the control over which Powerwalls are charged from the grid it seems reasonable that as long as I didn't exceed 67% of the total...

I have 3 thermostats for the 3 zones with 4 wire wiring run inside the walls. It would be quite a hassle to change to a 7 wire system. One of my challenges with sticking with a 2 stage system is low stage needs to remain at 50% (or lower) of high stage due to the size of one of the zones. One...

I have the Infinity thermostat that communicates with air handler controller board (which is part of the furnace) in a Carrier proprietary format. The air handler controller board then communicates with the outside unit controller board and the zoning system controller board in the proprietary...

I have a 5 ton 25HNA660A 2 stage heat pump and 58CVX110-20 2 stage variable speed furnace. The Bristol TS compressor in my heat pump is infamous for having problems and mine may be acting up. I was hoping to replace the outside unit with one that has a variable speed inverter compressor if it...

I have a Carrier Infinity dual fuel (propane) heat pump. I have currently my furnace locked out until it gets below 35F. When I built my home in 2009 I wanted the flexibility of being able to select the most economical fuel since electricity rates and propane prices were fluctuating, I wanted...

22.9. I think I was on 22.4 before the update.

This morning I noticed that I couldn't get data from my Powerwalls to see the status. I tried the Tesla app, connecting through my LAN (my Gateway connected to my LAN by Ethernet), and Powerwall Companion. I had the option to "Connect" via the LAN connection so I pressed that. It then said...

I don't know if that is a good example. There is the controversy that road maintenance is being paid by the gasoline tax (sort of like per kwh) and as electric cars become a higher percentage of vehicles then a different funding scheme will need to be found (like charging per mile driven)...

I just approved the documents for installing a 3rd Powerwall. One of the documents Tesla had me approve is to allow PG&E to install a backup power transfer switch as part of a trial program. However, I have a 400 amp service entrance and my understanding is the transfer switches are only...

The most frustrating for me is PG&E made me get signed permission forms from my neighbors to allow PG&E to trim the trees along the power lines where the poles ran along the private road. This shouldn't have been necessary since I already had a deeded utility easement along the road. I had to...

I'm at the end of our road. I had to run 3 poles from my closest neighbor's pole and there are no parcels between us. PG&E made me an offer to keep the rights (I forget how much it would have cost) or hand the the poles over to them for maintenance. It didn't make sense to keep the rights.

Solar doesn't help much when your panels are covered with snow. I got to day 3 of a 5 day outage last winter before I had to start my generator (and I was one of the lucky ones that got power back after 5 days). It was nice to have those 2 days without running a generator.

You obviously don't live in an area where power outages are commonplace.

I grew up in Nevada City and it was quite common for people to live off the grid because of the costs involved to get power run. I now live a couple of counties south and there are plenty of people who still live off the grid for the same reason. It cost me ~$20k to run power when I built ~15...

I'm on EV2A and am a net generator. I'm trying to find the sweet spot between being a net generator, Powerwall wear, reserve capacity for power outages, and hands-off settings. Currently, I'm leaving my 2 Powerwalls at 50% reserve year-round with Peak set at 4pm-9pm. I'm also getting a 3rd...

I wasn't responding to your post but more of a general statement regarding arbitrage. If the utilities structured their rates to truly reflect their costs then it one should be allowed to charge their storage during low rate periods and feed their power back to the grid during high demand...

Yes, I've never understood the logic of not wanting someone to charge storage during low demand periods and discharging it during high demand periods (other than lost utility profits).