Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Another PG&E Sucks and SGIP Thread (15 minute data interval request)

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Sunrun must have a Tesla account in order to have commissioned your GateWay. The Sunrun Tesla portal account is where Sunrun would get the 1 week discharge data that SGIP is looking for that shows you have discharged enough energy from the battery in one week equal to the PowerWall's energy capacity. For each PowerWall you have that would be on average 13.5 kWh/7 days or about 2 kWh per day per PowerWall. That shows them you can meet the 52 full cycles of the battery per year. If you have 2 Powerwall then you need to discharge on average 4 kWh per day, 3 PowerWalls average 6 kWh per day and so one.

After you have your system up and running, this one week discharge data is what SGIP needs in order to pay out your SGIP rebate.

Your representative at Sunrun who is handling the SGIP program should know all about this.

What is confusing is talking about your 5 year agreement to continue to following these discharge rules. That requires SGIP to have access to Tesla's discharge data for your GateWay account. This has nothing to do with the past 5 years. It is the future 5 years. But the discharge data they need right now is just one week of sample data from your system which would come from Tesla's severs via Sunrun's account.
 
Sunrun said they've never had SGIP ask a homeowner to produce discharge data. But the email I received from SGIP this week reads:

...the independent third-party inspector identified the following issues: Discharge data missing. To prevent cancellation of your incentive reservation, please respond to this notice within 30 days.
I've read about your saga with PG&E and don't doubt they have it out for you.
However, the ask you are talking about here is not unique; I just completed it myself and I have my third-party inspection today or tomorrow.

I also used a Tesla certified third-party installer. My contact at the third-party installer was able to get the report directly from Tesla that was needed for the discharge data. We installed in Dec of 2019, received PTO around July 2020. The CSV that we sent to SGIP was for 7 days of data. DM me if you want to see a copy and I'll share.
 
Lol ok so PG&E doesn't suck as much today as they did yesterday. But on a sliding scale of suckage, they're still pretty high up there.

I've read about your saga with PG&E and don't doubt they have it out for you.
However, the ask you are talking about here is not unique; I just completed it myself and I have my third-party inspection today or tomorrow.

I also used a Tesla certified third-party installer. My contact at the third-party installer was able to get the report directly from Tesla that was needed for the discharge data. We installed in Dec of 2019, received PTO around July 2020. The CSV that we sent to SGIP was for 7 days of data. DM me if you want to see a copy and I'll share.

I don't understand why your inspection is tomorrow if your system had PTO July 2020 (dude, that is a super long PTO delay... COVID didn't even really lock things down until Feb 2020?). Does SGIP make it routine to just keep visiting a home to look at the batteries? Like what are they doing with all these photos? 🤔
 
Lol ok so PG&E doesn't suck as much today as they did yesterday. But on a sliding scale of suckage, they're still pretty high up there.



I don't understand why your inspection is tomorrow if your system had PTO July 2020 (dude, that is a super long PTO delay... COVID didn't even really lock things down until Feb 2020?). Does SGIP make it routine to just keep visiting a home to look at the batteries? Like what are they doing with all these photos? 🤔
In my case SGIP wanted to verify the system was installed as described and that I was on a well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stevie Jewel
In my case SGIP wanted to verify the system was installed as described and that I was on a well.

Yeah, that well water thing makes sense to inspect because there was a lot of evidence to suggest people were abusing the system. SGIP asserted many people were fraudulently claiming their home was solely served by a well. But then they'd inspect and find no well, or find normal municipal water and a well. SGIP was not pleased.

I'm not like against SGIP inspecting. I'm just against a county inspection, a PTO inspection, an SGIP inspection, and probably another inspection a few months from now because it just "feels right". It's getting annoying. But, it's not as bad as before when PG&E were sending people to my house telling me PV+ESS was unsafe and unfair to my neighbors.
 
Lol ok so PG&E doesn't suck as much today as they did yesterday. But on a sliding scale of suckage, they're still pretty high up there.



I don't understand why your inspection is tomorrow if your system had PTO July 2020 (dude, that is a super long PTO delay... COVID didn't even really lock things down until Feb 2020?). Does SGIP make it routine to just keep visiting a home to look at the batteries? Like what are they doing with all these photos? 🤔
My PTO delay reached to COVID because I didn't want the NGOM installed but Tesla didn't have UL certification on the Backup Gateway yet. (my understanding)
When Tesla got the approvals, PG&E dropped the requirement for the PV generation monitoring meter and we got PTO.

The inspection today is a third-party one that is directly related to SGIP, nothing to do with PTO. The reason it's so late is that it took FOREVER to get my reservation lettter.
 
Yeah, that well water thing makes sense to inspect because there was a lot of evidence to suggest people were abusing the system. SGIP asserted many people were fraudulently claiming their home was solely served by a well. But then they'd inspect and find no well, or find normal municipal water and a well. SGIP was not pleased.

I'm not like against SGIP inspecting. I'm just against a county inspection, a PTO inspection, an SGIP inspection, and probably another inspection a few months from now because it just "feels right". It's getting annoying. But, it's not as bad as before when PG&E were sending people to my house telling me PV+ESS was unsafe and unfair to my neighbors.
I understand the well (although that information is available in county records) but it seems like county inspection and PG&E PTO should be good enough for the energy system.
 
My PTO delay reached to COVID because I didn't want the NGOM installed but Tesla didn't have UL certification on the Backup Gateway yet. (my understanding)
When Tesla got the approvals, PG&E dropped the requirement for the PV generation monitoring meter and we got PTO.

The inspection today is a third-party one that is directly related to SGIP, nothing to do with PTO. The reason it's so late is that it took FOREVER to get my reservation lettter.


Oh yeah, you're the one with the super-long-lasting SGIP application. I don't know why RRF was so hard for you to get. I mean, this SGIP form is way too complicated for its own good. But it's not so long as to cause months of delays.

I hope you pass your inspection and move one step closer to that SGIP 💴
 
  • Like
Reactions: MJ_CA_2019
In the SGIP manual, paragraph 7 says that the Program Administrator (PA), PG&E in my case, will have the data provided by a Performance Data Provider (PDP). Tesla is an approved PDP. The difficulty is that the SGIP manual also says that the system owner (me) will contract with the PDP. So I am trying to find out if I need to contact Tesla to be sure they are complying with the SGIP data on my behalf. Yes, I can, and do, download the data from tesla weekly. In the Tesla app, under the Energy Usage, scrolling to the bottom will be a button to download the data. I happen to back this data up to Google. Download the data.csv file, rename it to data08122021.csv and go on to the next day. I do not have access to PG&E's portal, only PDPs are supposed to upload data to the portal. I will research this more and report back.
 
In the SGIP manual, paragraph 7 says that the Program Administrator (PA), PG&E in my case, will have the data provided by a Performance Data Provider (PDP). Tesla is an approved PDP. The difficulty is that the SGIP manual also says that the system owner (me) will contract with the PDP. So I am trying to find out if I need to contact Tesla to be sure they are complying with the SGIP data on my behalf. Yes, I can, and do, download the data from tesla weekly. In the Tesla app, under the Energy Usage, scrolling to the bottom will be a button to download the data. I happen to back this data up to Google. Download the data.csv file, rename it to data08122021.csv and go on to the next day. I do not have access to PG&E's portal, only PDPs are supposed to upload data to the portal. I will research this more and report back.
Your certified installer or Tesla can make a specific report at your request to satisfy the SGIP reporting requirements for 5 or less powerwalls.
 
Hey fellas, I have a question about my incoming SGIP inspection for my 2 powerwalls.

After receiving my PTO from Edison last month, I had my electrician install a 50amp breaker to my old main panel directly to the grid, for an ev charging (this is so I don't kill the battery on my powerwalls every night when I charge my tesla)

When SGIP comes for the inspection, would they care about this?
 
Hey fellas, I have a question about my incoming SGIP inspection for my 2 powerwalls.

After receiving my PTO from Edison last month, I had my electrician install a 50amp breaker to my old main panel directly to the grid, for an ev charging (this is so I don't kill the battery on my powerwalls every night when I charge my tesla)

When SGIP comes for the inspection, would they care about this?
nope
 
  • Like
Reactions: cvincent
Hey fellas, I have a question about my incoming SGIP inspection for my 2 powerwalls.

After receiving my PTO from Edison last month, I had my electrician install a 50amp breaker to my old main panel directly to the grid, for an ev charging (this is so I don't kill the battery on my powerwalls every night when I charge my tesla)

When SGIP comes for the inspection, would they care about this?


I had two "SGIP inspections" ... the first one was just a guy coming from AESC and he was only there to take pictures of the install as proof the installer had actually installed the system (and wasn't just fraudulently saying an install occurred to claim credits).


The second "SGIP inspection" was by PG&E to do the exact same thing. Except PG&E actually flipped off my main utility disconnects (all 3 of them) to see if the house backup worked and these weren't just cardboard powerwalls hung on my wall.

All of this seems overkill since PG&E also requested export data as proof the batteries were installed and charging/discharging on daily cycles.

The folks who came on site both took photos and left without saying much. It would be unlikely these on-prem SGIP inspections would find an issue with your 50A breaker or EV charger unless your installed EV equipment is literally blocking access or visibility to your Powerwalls or Gateway.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: cvincent
I had two "SGIP inspections" ... the first one was just a guy coming from AESC and he was only there to take pictures of the install as proof the installer had actually installed the system (and wasn't just fraudulently saying an install occurred to claim credits).


The second "SGIP inspection" was by PG&E to do the exact same thing. Except PG&E actually flipped off my main utility disconnects (all 3 of them) to see if the house backup worked and these weren't just cardboard powerwalls hung on my wall.

All of this seems overkill since PG&E also requested export data as proof the batteries were installed and charging/discharging on daily cycles.

The folks who came on site both took photos and left without saying much. It would be unlikely these on-prem SGIP inspections would find an issue with your 50A breaker or EV charger unless your installed EV equipment is literally blocking access or visibility to your Powerwalls or Gateway.
Really appreciate your detailed response!

SGIP also requested 7 days Discharge Data for my Powerwalls. My installer requested this discharge data last Friday from Tesla directly, and I spoke with Tesla on the phone this morning, and they said it can take 3-5 days from the date of the request for us to get this data back. Do you recall how long you waited to get this discharge data from Tesla?

And yeah you wouldnt really notice my 50A breaker until you open the old main panel. Also my Powerwalls are installed on the side of my house, and my EV charger is inside my garage. So they definitely wouldn't really see my charger unless they want to go inside my garage.

In general, I wasn't sure if I was breaking a policy/law by installing a 50A breaker in the old panel that's tied directly to the grid, versus installing it in the new tesla panel (that's tied directly to the Powerwalls). But then again, im sort of an overthinker, and it doesn't help that the SGIP check is something i definitely need to pay off the Powerwalls with haha.
 
Really appreciate your detailed response!

SGIP also requested 7 days Discharge Data for my Powerwalls. My installer requested this discharge data last Friday from Tesla directly, and I spoke with Tesla on the phone this morning, and they said it can take 3-5 days from the date of the request for us to get this data back. Do you recall how long you waited to get this discharge data from Tesla?

And yeah you wouldnt really notice my 50A breaker until you open the old main panel. Also my Powerwalls are installed on the side of my house, and my EV charger is inside my garage. So they definitely wouldn't really see my charger unless they want to go inside my garage.

In general, I wasn't sure if I was breaking a policy/law by installing a 50A breaker in the old panel that's tied directly to the grid, versus installing it in the new tesla panel (that's tied directly to the Powerwalls). But then again, im sort of an overthinker, and it doesn't help that the SGIP check is something i definitely need to pay off the Powerwalls with haha.

My EV charger is the only thing that was left in my old panel (everything else was moved to the new panel). I am not in PGE territory, but in SCE (So. Cal). I dont think its super unusual to have that specific load on the NON backed up original panel, so I doubt it would register to them, unless they were really digging into your permits or something for some reason.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cvincent
Really appreciate your detailed response!

SGIP also requested 7 days Discharge Data for my Powerwalls. My installer requested this discharge data last Friday from Tesla directly, and I spoke with Tesla on the phone this morning, and they said it can take 3-5 days from the date of the request for us to get this data back. Do you recall how long you waited to get this discharge data from Tesla?

And yeah you wouldnt really notice my 50A breaker until you open the old main panel. Also my Powerwalls are installed on the side of my house, and my EV charger is inside my garage. So they definitely wouldn't really see my charger unless they want to go inside my garage.

In general, I wasn't sure if I was breaking a policy/law by installing a 50A breaker in the old panel that's tied directly to the grid, versus installing it in the new tesla panel (that's tied directly to the Powerwalls). But then again, im sort of an overthinker, and it doesn't help that the SGIP check is something i definitely need to pay off the Powerwalls with haha.


The wait for Tesla to deliver the data was pretty short (like 1 week). The hard part for me regarding the discharge data was understanding who to contact at Tesla. I purchased my system through Sunrun, and Tesla had neglected to tell Sunrun who to contact in case a Sunrun customer requests discharge data. So I wasted like 2 weeks while Sunrun spun their wheels trying to figure out how to request discharge data from Tesla.

Sunrun has installed thousands of LG Chem batteries in the past under SGIP, and they said they were rarely asked for discharge data prior to my system. But I guess based on your experience it's more common than I may think?

Good luck on the SGIP! It feels good when you can finally put all the install/headaches in the rear-view.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cvincent
My EV charger is the only thing that was left in my old panel (everything else was moved to the new panel). I am not in PGE territory, but in SCE (So. Cal). I dont think its super unusual to have that specific load on the NON backed up original panel, so I doubt it would register to them, unless they were really digging into your permits or something for some reason.
I'm also SCE in Socal!

Yeah I waited for City inspection approval, and Edison issuing PTO, before installing the 50A to my old panel. But it's great to hear that this is something they can overlook easily. Thanks for responding!
 
The wait for Tesla to deliver the data was pretty short (like 1 week). The hard part for me regarding the discharge data was understanding who to contact at Tesla. I purchased my system through Sunrun, and Tesla had neglected to tell Sunrun who to contact in case a Sunrun customer requests discharge data. So I wasted like 2 weeks while Sunrun spun their wheels trying to figure out how to request discharge data from Tesla.

Sunrun has installed thousands of LG Chem batteries in the past under SGIP, and they said they were rarely asked for discharge data prior to my system. But I guess based on your experience it's more common than I may think?

Good luck on the SGIP! It feels good when you can finally put all the install/headaches in the rear-view.
1 week is definitely a short wait (I just have to be patient haha) But that's unfortunate that you wasted 2 weeks, but at least you got it.

But as luck would have it, I had to be selected for an inspection. But then again my SGIP rebate is fairly high, so they might have an automatic inspection as soon as you pass a certain $$ rebate threshold.

Just want to say thanks again for answering my questions, and explaining your experience! And yeah I agree I just want to put this in the rear-view already and just move on haha.