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California power companies trying to slow solar adoption
- Thread starter Merrill
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- Energy Environment Policy
eye.surgeon
Active Member
So what is the new peak and off peak for PG&E, anybody know? And I heard that current solar owners are exempt from these changes, does that include being exempt from peak and off peak changes also?
You can go on line to PG&E and look at the E6 and EV schedules, if you are on E6 nothing will be different. For me I'm on E7 NEM solar and that is going away in March. This was the only really solar friendly schedule in that peak is 12pm to 6pm and all other times are off peak, no partial peak. So when you are generating max solar you are getting paid the high peak rates. There will be a new E-tou-A schedule and of course the EV schedule both have peak times later in the day and up to 9pm at night. It is somewhat complicated which is the way they want it to be.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
Here are a few simple graphics to illustrate the TOU rate schedules for E6 and EV-A/B. 
Keep in mind that the high peak time rates benefit Solar producers as we sell back at these rates to PG&E.
Keep in mind that the high peak time rates benefit Solar producers as we sell back at these rates to PG&E.
Both EV-A and EV-B are non-tiered, time-of-use plans, which means that the rate you pay is based on the time of day you use the electricity.
Costs are lowest from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. when demand is lowest, making this the best time to charge your vehicle.
Electricity is more expensive during Peak (2-9 p.m.) and Partial-Peak (7 a.m.-2 p.m. and 9-11 p.m.) periods.
See graphic below for detailed information on EV rate costs and times.
With E6 Time of Use, you still need to conserve energy throughout the month to avoid and react to higher priced tiers, but the price you pay also varies thoughout the time of day and season. This works great if you can use air conditioning and major appliances in the morning or evening during the summer.Rates are lowest in the morning, late evening and weekends from May through October, and at all times outside 5-8PM on weekdays from November through April.
The graphic below shows Time of Use pricing (Tier 2) over one year.
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By looking at the charts above, the rates are highest in afternoons and into early evening. Best place to put your panels will be on the west facing roof if you have one.
Correct. I have a west facing roof and while it doesn't gross as much energy capture of the course of the year, it certainly does a much better job taking advantage of TOU on EV-A. I am about to add south facing panels on a new structure as well, which will hopefully net us out on energy completely.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
I want to remind everyone of the discussion on this Forum from a couple of months ago about the fact that the E-7 rate plan will no longer be available after Feb. 29, 2016.
If you are on that plan, you should switch to E-6 by calling PG&E. If you are on E-7 today and don't proactively switch to E-6 by Feb. 29, you will have lost your chance to get on E-6 and will be put on the new E-TOU plan, which is less favorable.
If you are on that plan, you should switch to E-6 by calling PG&E. If you are on E-7 today and don't proactively switch to E-6 by Feb. 29, you will have lost your chance to get on E-6 and will be put on the new E-TOU plan, which is less favorable.
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Sorry for the slow reply. The $40/month covers the T&D; 7¢/kWh is the cost of the energy (+losses) itself.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
I want to reiterate what FlatSix911 is stating. If you are on E7 switch to E6 now. When the new plans come out you can ALWAYS switch to one of those, but you will NOT be able to chose E6. So no penalty for switching now, but potentially a big penalty if you don't.
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And another thing to consider is that if you use programmable devices to run or set temps off peak, they will need to be adjusted to the new times. Another concern is that traditional programmable devices are mostly limited to 4 periods a day. The E6 plan has 4 periods plus if you want to setback for night that's another 2, so 6 periods in total worst case.
I am going to have to rethink my strategy a bit. Some devices I cannot alter the number of periods but perhaps NEST might be in my future for the thermostats.
eye.surgeon
Active Member
For those with big houses and pools that consume a lot of energy, the EV-A plan is better than the E7 or E6 plans because there are no tiers.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
Not when I ran the numbers. The best rates were with E7 and solar with a separate meter for a dedicated EV plan. But you have to be able to put the other meter in cheap so the cost does not offset the savings.
EV-A is significantly better for me than E6/7 with my west-facing panels and coastal climate. However, I do not have a big house or use much energy during the day (we run the AC 7-14 days a year max). My benefit is the west-facing panels (which skews my generation later) along with being able to shift a lot of usage to off-peak.
eye.surgeon
Active Member
With a big house in a hot climate, EV-A is better. I was into tier 3 prices within a few days of every billing cycle and paying triple rates for the remaining month. With EV-A I have no tiers, and my first kwh costs the same as the last.
omgwtfbyobbq
Active Member
No worries! That energy cost seems about right, but $40/month for T&D seems kind of high. That's what, ~8¢/kWh for T&D with a household averaging 500+kWh/month? I guess that makes a compelling case for at home battery storage if those costs + at home DSM can close the price gap.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
I live in a 4,000 sq foot house in a hot zone so I think I qualify for your criteria.
In a few more months I will have a year of solar production under my belt. So I will rerun the numbers then and see if EV-A looks better. My neighbor says the same as you.
This could be better because I have not installed the separate meter yet. I don't need to go through that hassle if not needed. I am a bit worried about the load but PG&E looked at it and stated if I was careful with my EV charging (ie in the 11pm-6am time), I would not have issues.
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