PG&E discontinuing EV-A rate

[TSV2000]

PGE will not accept new signups for EV-A rate starting July 1st. Anybody know what the replacement rate plan will be?

Anyone on the EV-A plan with solar. Is it worth it to switch to EV-A before it is discontinued to be grandfathered? How long is the grandfathering?

 

[GuyGadois]

What plan are you currently on?

 

[TSV2000]

What plan are you currently on?

I'm on E1, but scheduled to move to ETOU-A after the solar is installed since PGE forces all NEM accounts onto time-of-use plans.

 

[GenSao]

The PG&E EV rate schedule does note:

Regardless of the level of participation, Rate A of Schedule EV will be closed to new enrollment on the later of July 1, 2019 or the date the new electric vehicle charging rate adopted by D.18-08-013 is available for enrollment.

Beginning on the later of July 1, 2019 or the date the new electric vehicle charging rate becomes available for enrollment, customers taking service on Rate A or Rate B of this rate schedule cannot exceed 800% of their annual baseline allowance, measured as the total usage for the customer over the last 12 months divided by the total annual baseline allowance using the approved baseline allowances for those months. Customers at premises with total usage in excess of 800 percent of baseline over 12 months will be moved to Schedule E-TOU-B and will be prohibited from taking service on any electric vehicle rate schedule for 12 months. Customers must have 12 months of consecutive usage on this Rate Schedule before being subject to the requirement of being moved from Schedule EV to Schedule E-TOU-B as a result of exceeding the 800 percent of baseline 12-month threshold.

I suspect a replacement plan will have the same rates, but a different Time of Use (TOU) periods. From what I see, from this webinar, they may be adding a super-off peak period in the spring and adjust the current weekend 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. "On-Peak" to 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. "On-Peak" period year round. Unfortunately, if you use too much power you may be forced onto the E-TOU-B rate. Not a good rate to charge EVs on.

The webinar discusses grandfathering for NEM 1, NEM 2, and other cases.

I am on Solar with Tesla Powewalls on the EV-A Plan with a EV (Tesla Model 3) and a PHEV (Prius Plug-in). Based on a simple model, I found it was cost effective to be on the EV-A rate schedule. Especially if you charge your EV overnight. Having batteries helps mitigate the power cost during Peak periods and earn some money on demand response programs.

You should do your due diligence based on your actual (and planned) consumption. If you have enough usage history, log onto your PG&E account and use the "Electric Rate Plan Comparison" calculator. I suspect you will likely benefit form the switch.

 

[miimura]

If you are charging an EV at home during overnight hours and don't live in an area that requires a lot of A/C at home, then you will definitely save money on the EV-A rate plan, with or without solar. I would make sure to sign up for the current plan because it is very likely that the new plan will be less advantageous to solar customers.

 

[SoundDaTrumpet]

@GenSao thanks for the reminder about shifting rate schedules. Not exactly sure how the current EV-A time windows will shape up. Considering E-TOU-A/B rates shifting to 4-9pm. Solar users on EV-A will lose 2 hours of solar on the weekdays. I think as PG&E boils this down. Solar + EV-A is really the shoulder vs. off-peak with no peak period benefits. It seems like there is no point to orient solar panels to the west unless is literally facing the horizon on a steep pitched roof. Does anyone have an idea what is "grandfathered" with EV-A... is it just the time periods?

 

[GenSao]

If you are charging an EV at home during overnight hours and don't live in an area that requires a lot of A/C at home, then you will definitely save money on the EV-A rate plan, with or without solar. I would make sure to sign up for the current plan because it is very likely that the new plan will be less advantageous to solar customers.

Agreed. If you have a EV or PHEV switch to the new rate now! You do not have to wait for your solar to be installed. It can take some time before PG&E can switch your rate plan.

 

[arnolddeleon]

@miimura do you know how long someone can stay on EV-A? I stayed on E-6 after I got Powerwalls because it looked like it was slightly better than EV-A but E-6 only goes to 2022. I'm guessing it is time to switch.

 

[GenSao]

@GenSao thanks for the reminder about shifting rate schedules. Not exactly sure how the current EV-A time windows will shape up. Considering E-TOU-A/B rates shifting to 4-9pm. Solar users on EV-A will lose 2 hours of solar on the weekdays. I think as PG&E boils this down. Solar + EV-A is really the shoulder vs. off-peak with no peak period benefits. It seems like there is no point to orient solar panels to the west unless is literally facing the horizon on a steep pitched roof. Does anyone have an idea what is "grandfathered" with EV-A... is it just the time periods?

Yes. From Energy Toolbase blog with emphasis in bold:

Residential Grandfathering

Similar to the other two IOU's in California, PG&E will ultimately default all of its customers onto TOU rates. That is currently scheduled for October of 2020. Grandfathering protections for residential customers who qualify will last for 5 years from date of PTO (permission to operate). It's important to note that rates and the $/kWh costing amounts are not grandfathered, only the time-of-use periods are. Residential customers who qualify for grandfathering include:

• NEM-1 customers who opted to be on a TOU rate before new TOU rate periods are implemented
• NEM-2 customers who installed before new TOU rates were implemented
• * NEM-1 customers who did not opt onto TOU will be able to stay on their non-TOU rates for the first 20 years of operation of their solar systems.

Form the webinar, it sounds like the new EV rate plan may match the Commercial TOU schedule with a "Super off-peak" with 4-9 pm all week (all day) peak period. No more weekends or holiday schedule.

As peak is 4-9 pm, there is still a benefit to pitch panels to the west.

 

[Musterion]

@miimura do you know how long someone can stay on EV-A? I stayed on E-6 after I got Powerwalls because it looked like it was slightly better than EV-A but E-6 only goes to 2022. I'm guessing it is time to switch.

HA, @GenSao just beat me to it. On the same site, PG&E's "Final Decision" Rates, Part 1: Residential Rates, the webinar has more info on the grandfathering. First I believe one big change not mentioned above is that EV-A will open to storage customers as well (with no electrical vehicle) and enrollment will be capped to 30,000. Then there is the shift in the peak timing, etc. The date of grandfathering (for time periods) quoted is 5 years after PTO and not exceeding July 31, 2022. I believe that matches expiration of E6. Except E6 goes away and you get put on TOU, and EV-A remains and you would transition to new time periods and rules. There is also a new rule that if you exceed 800% baseline, you get kicked out of EV-A and onto TOU and cannot attempt to rejoin EV-A for 12 months. Good time to check your baseline — you may find it surprisingly small...

 

[GenSao]

HA, @GenSao just beat me to it. On the same site, PG&E's "Final Decision" Rates, Part 1: Residential Rates, the webinar has more info on the grandfathering. First I believe one big change not mentioned above is that EV-A will open to storage customers as well (with no electrical vehicle) and enrollment will be capped to 30,000. Then there is the shift in the peak timing, etc. The date of grandfathering (for time periods) quoted is 5 years after PTO and not exceeding July 31, 2022. I believe that matches expiration of E6. Except E6 goes away and you get put on TOU, and EV-A remains and you would transition to new time periods and rules. There is also a new rule that if you exceed 800% baseline, you get kicked out of EV-A and onto TOU and cannot attempt to rejoin EV-A for 12 months. Good time to check your baseline — you may find it surprisingly small...

There is another blog entry that is very detailed about grandfathering.

 

[SoundDaTrumpet]

@GenSao Thanks. I just noticed that I made an assumption above that the revised EV-A is shifting from 2-9pm to 4-9pm. Who knows maybe the new EV rate schedule will be better for some. Seems like sizing solar to be oversized is preferred as utility rates changes tend to not favor rate arbitrage, and we are back to traditional sizing of solar installations. Rate arbitration seems was a distraction for solar companies when sizing. The antiquated method (annual use = annual production) proves to win out.

 

[miimura]

I don't know what to think about all this. Most of it looks bad for solar customers. While I cannot see my usage in MyEnergy any more since I was put on NEMMT last year due to Powerwalls, I can download my Green Button data. I guess I will have to download my last year of usage data and update my spreadsheet with this new schedule.

I don't think the follow-on EV-A will follow the commercial schedule graphic posted above. This graphic from the Webinar seems to be the new EV-A price and schedule.

This appears to be bad for Solar customers because the solar generation from sunrise to 3pm will be devalued to Off-Peak credit. Powerwall users will be able to store it and use it from 3pm to Midnight when rates are at least double the Off-Peak. EV charging will be more expensive since today's rate is ~$0.13/kWh and it will be $0.15.

 

[GenSao]

@GenSao Thanks. I just noticed that I made an assumption above that the revised EV-A is shifting from 2-9pm to 4-9pm. Who knows maybe the new EV rate schedule will be better for some. Seems like sizing solar to be oversized is preferred as utility rates changes tend to not favor rate arbitrage, and we are back to traditional sizing of solar installations. Rate arbitration seems was a distraction for solar companies when sizing. The antiquated method (annual use = annual production) proves to win out.

@SoundDaTrumpet No problem.

@miimura You are right. Re-watching the presentation, there is a TOU chart to the right side.

Ignoring the rates (which will be the same for the old and new rates), it looks like the new year round, all day TOU for EV(A) plan is as follows:

Midnight to 3 PM = Off Peak
3 PM to 4 PM = Part Peak
4 PM to 9 PM = Peak
9 PM to Midnight = Part Peak​

Likely no more holiday and weekends. As the slide take precedence, I'll retract the potential for "Super off-peak" since it was reference from a Commercial TOU rate. Although the slide stated it is be best rate schedule for energy storage, the schedule has a poorer payout for solar alone.

The trade off is that you can charge your EV and use more power constantly every day (15 hours) vs. a varied window for weekdays (8 hours) and weekends & holidays (20 hours). Depending on personal use, I think the older EV-A schedule is better overall.

 

[miimura]

The price differentials in the chart and the text in the Webinar don't match. Today's EV-A has the $0.21/kWh Winter and $0.35/kWh Summer price differential from Off-Peak to Peak as stated in the text. However the chart is only 15 cents (30-15) and 28 cents (~43-15).

 

[miimura]

I assume that they will flatten the rates ($/kWh) in EV-A to what is shown in the webinar. By flatten, I mean that the Off-Peak and Peak will get closer together. That makes EV charging more expensive at night and less solar credit during Peak. Since my Powerwalls can cover all my 3pm-midnight usage except in the dead of winter, the reduced mid-day solar credit I currently get after the batteries are full would be bad.

With respect to Powerwall programming, if I were on this new schedule, I would definitely change to Cost Savings mode. Either that or change the whole schedule to pure Peak and Off-Peak, treating the rate schedule Part-Peak as Peak.

 

[GenSao]

@Musterion

As the new EV(A) rate schedule has a 800% over baseline limitation, I quickly calculated what that would equate to. Based on my being in Zone X with gas, the baseline is Summer =10.3KWH/day with Winter 10.5 KWH/day.

Overall baseline would roughly be 3,800 KWH / year. Thus, 800% of baseline would be 30,400 KWH / year. I think I am ok for now.

 

[kengchang]

Does anyone has information on SCE?

 

[Musterion]

@Musterion

As the new EV(A) rate schedule has a 800% over baseline limitation, I quickly calculated what that would equate to. Based on my being in Zone X with gas, the baseline is Summer =10.3KWH/day with Winter 10.5 KWH/day.

Overall baseline would roughly be 3,800 KWH / year. Thus, 800% of baseline would be 30,400 KWH / year. I think I am ok for now.

I read over some other EV-A document and it was not clear to me whether the 800% applies to net energy or to total supplied by PG&E before generation credits. Both are tracked in billing. Do you have a pointer to clarify? Thanks.

EDIT-
PS. It seems to me that all people on EV-A (even grandfathered plans) will be subject to the 800% rule after it closes to new subscribers. Is that correct?

 

[GenSao]

I read over some other EV-A document and it was not clear to me whether the 800% applies to net energy or to total supplied by PG&E before generation credits. Both are tracked in billing. Do you have a pointer to clarify? Thanks.

EDIT-
PS. It seems to me that all people on EV-A (even grandfathered plans) will be subject to the 800% rule after it closes to new subscribers. Is that correct?

I do not know for certain. Full details are in the source documents with the CPUC for residential settlement reproduced below from Page 8 to 10.

4. Schedule EV
The Residential Rate Design Settling Parties agree to the following changes to Schedule EV (Electric Vehicles).

(a) Enrollment Limitation: Replace the current 60,000 enrollment limitation with the following usage limitation: EV customers cannot exceed 800 percent of their average annual baseline allowance, measured as the total usage for the customer over the last 12 months divided by the total annual baseline allowance using the then current approved baseline quantities. Those who do will be transferred to E-TOU-B, a similar rate that also has no tiers. Premises that have been removed from Schedule EV will be prohibited from taking service on Schedule EV for 12 months, regardless of the name on the account, unless the name change is the result of the sale of the home.

(b) Rate Design: The Residential Rate Design Settling Parties agree that the TOU periods for Schedule EV should be revised as shown below. The Residential Rate Design Settling Parties further agree that the illustrative rates for Schedule EV provided in Appendix C of the attached Residential Settlement Agreement are reasonable and should be adopted. However, these illustrative rates will be adjusted for revenue requirement and sales changes. Between March 1, 2017 and through 2018, the off peak rate of 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) will be retained and rates in other TOU periods will be adjusted to ensure the schedule is revenue neutral. Beginning January 1, 2019, Schedule EV rates (including the off peak rate) will be adjusted for revenue requirement and sales changes. Beginning January 1, 2019, revenue requirement and sales changes will be implemented as an equal cent per kWh adjustment such that the seasonal and TOU rate differentials remain the same (on a cents per kWh basis). The revised seasons and TOU periods for Schedule EV are provided below.

Seasons:
Summer: June – September
Winter: October – May

TOU Periods:
Peak: 4PM – 9PM, All Days
Part-Peak: 3PM – 4PM & 9PM – 12AM, All Days
Off-Peak: 12AM – 3PM, All Days​

(c) Open Schedule EVA to storage customers. The Residential Rate Design Settling Parties agree that customers with battery storage may take service on this rate schedule on a pilot basis subject to the Schedule EV usage limitation (above) and subject to the following terms and limitations:

• Participation will be capped at 30,000 storage-only customers. Customers that have both an electric vehicle and battery storage will not count toward the participation cap. Eligible customers must apply for interconnection and be granted permission to operate in order to take service on Schedule EV.
• The Residential Rate Design Settling Parties will confer with regard to the future of the program when participation reaches 15,000 storage-only customers.
• Participation is open to all residential customers (up to the cap), including those with an existing photovoltaic (PV) system. There is no prohibition on participating customers from later installing a PV system
• After reaching 5,000 storage-only participants, PG&E will update its website with the current total number of storage-only enrollment; and will continue to update the website for each increment of 5,000 storage-only customers enrolled.
• The installed capacity of storage, in kWh, must be at least 0.05% of the customer’s annual consumption from the previous twelve months for customers with more than 6,000 kWh of annual usage. The installed storage capacity for customers with 6,000 kWh or less of annual usage must be at least 2 kWh.
• Annually, PG&E will report on the storage component of Schedule EV: (1) Number of participating storage-only customers and the number that also are participating in SGIP; (2) Recorded billing data (including usage by TOU period) and revenue for participants; (3) Estimated revenue for alternative residential schedules based on recorded billing data
• Prior to the next Phase II GRC, PG&E will analyze the feasibility of providing a program or programs for residential customers with battery storage that requires a minimum amount of remote dispatch of the storage unit at the direction of PG&E or the Independent System Operator. PG&E may conduct this analysis either for inclusion in the next Phase II GRC or as part of another Commission proceeding. The analysis shall consider technical, economic, and ratemaking challenges along with identifying potential benefits to the grid, non-participating customers, and California’s GHG goals. PG&E shall consult with interested stakeholders in conjunction with its analysis.

Also note, the settlement on grandfathered rates for solar customers with the SPUC.