PG&E TOU Customers: Charge nightly to reduce cost?

[GuyGadois]

I am a new Tesla owner and am now just getting a wee shock of the cost of charging my car. It seems as though the cost I thought I was going to pay for electricity is quite a bit more than what I thought it was going to be. I am on E-7 which is supposed to be one of the best schedules available by PG&E (and I understand it is going away soon). I thought I would be paying mostly the low off-peak baseline rate. That isn't happening. Here is my 'logic' as to why charging nightly saves charging costs over charging less often and letting the battery go down over a few days until charging.

We have a Winter daily baseline rate of 8.5 kWh. We have a winter off-peak baseline rate of $.118 but it goes up to $.15 then to $.20 and finally to $.27.

In summary (daily off peak):
0 - 8.6kWh $.118 per kWh
8.6 - 11.05 kWh $.15 per kWh
11.05 - 14.36 kWh $.20 per kWh
14.36 - 18.67 kWh $.27 per kWh

So, if I understand this correctly, if I wait until my battery is depleted to charge I run the risk of hitting the high baseline rate on that day which would be far more expensive then just staying at the lower tiers daily.

Is this logic making sense? Since I am new to the 'Tesla Family' I am just trying to understand how to charge at the lowest cost at home.

Cheers

GG

 

[Lloyd]

They have an EV rate. It lowers the off peak to .09 and no limit.

http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

 

[Tedkidd]

I am a new Tesla owner and am now just getting a wee shock of the cost of charging my car. It seems as though the cost I thought I was going to pay for electricity is quite a bit more than what I thought it was going to be. I am on E-7 which is supposed to be one of the best schedules available by PG&E (and I understand it is going away soon). I thought I would be paying mostly the low off-peak baseline rate. That isn't happening. Here is my 'logic' as to why charging nightly saves charging costs over charging less often and letting the battery go down over a few days until charging.

We have a Winter daily baseline rate of 8.5 kWh. We have a winter off-peak baseline rate of $.118 but it goes up to $.15 then to $.20 and finally to $.27.

In summary (daily off peak):
0 - 8.6kWh $.118 per kWh
8.6 - 11.05 kWh $.15 per kWh
11.05 - 14.36 kWh $.20 per kWh
14.36 - 18.67 kWh $.27 per kWh

So, if I understand this correctly, if I wait until my battery is depleted to charge I run the risk of hitting the high baseline rate on that day which would be far more expensive then just staying at the lower tiers daily.

Is this logic making sense? Since I am new to the 'Tesla Family' I am just trying to understand how to charge at the lowest cost at home.

Cheers

GG

might want to let them know you have an ev...

Electric Vehicles - Making Sense of the Rates | PG&E

edit: oop - post jumped!! Lloyd beat me!

 

[GuyGadois]

They have an EV rate. It lowers the off peak to .09 and no limit.

http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

I will take a look at that. I should have also mentioned I have a solar on the roof. I may need to wait a few months to get a better picture of cost increase. I believe the plan I am on, E-7 is the most favorable one offered. I use an App on the iPhone called PG&E Toolkit which analyzes your bill and show what it would cost on every schedule and so far E-7 is best but that has been pre Tesla.

 

[Lloyd]

The EV rate extends the Peak periods, but allows a lower rate for Off Peak. This is my first month on it and I transferred from E-7 also. I also have ~17kw of solar. PGE assured me that this would give me a better overall rate. Be sure though because I understand that you can't get back on it (E-7)

 

[CHG-ON]

Change to the EV rate. It is all time of use (TOU), not based on graduated consumption. Off peak (11PM - 7AM weekdays) is 9-10c, depending on the season for me. Partial peak (7AM - 11AM, 9PM - 11PM) is 24c (I think. Could be off a cent). Peak (11AM - 7PM) is a whopping 42c. So you'll need to adjust your energy usage to really gain savings. But it is well worth the effort. I now run everything I can at off peak: hot tub (stays warm all day) dish washer, washing machine, etc. My total electric bill actually dropped 100/mth from before I bought the car by charging only on off peak and changing my habits.

Weekends only have off and partial peak. Check out the details on the PGE site. When I signed up, a month after buying the car, they actually went back to the date I bought the car and gave me a retro credit. I was shocked. They have incentives from the gov't to give these rates to e-car drivers. So they are quite accommodating.

Well worth the effort. My car is now essentially free to drive, based on energy cost. I only drive about 700mi/mth, bummer, and I spend about $2/day to charge. When I was at my peak driving (110mi/day) at my old job, I paid about $4.50/day to charge. Still a bargain. I was paying 650/mth back then for gas when it was 4.70/gal. Now it's cheaper. But It'll be going up again.

And welcome to the club!!!

 

[dmunjal]

The best thing about the EV rate is no tiers. If you're even in Tier 4 or 5 with any rate plan, the EV rate is better.

 

[Lloyd]

Weekends only have off and partial peak. Check out the details on the PGE site. When I signed up, a month after buying the car, they actually went back to the date I bought the car and gave me a retro credit. I was shocked. They have incentives from the gov't to give these rates to e-car drivers. So they are quite accommodating.

Not correct. Weekends on EV-A have a full on peak period from 3 pm to 9 pm. Holidays also which were previously off peak.

 

[kf93]

It depends on the rate and the season. The basic TOU plan has no peak period during the winter at all. Since I have solar but no EV yet I'm still coming out ahead because I banked up so much peak cost power production during the summer than I can use 2-3x that amount in the winter and be even on the cost.

 

[Tedkidd]

I think you may also want to crunch the math on the separate meter. I've seen some are going that route. I think they credit in solar production is super favorable and the nighttime charging is super cheap.

 

[FlatSix911]

Stick with your E-7 rate as long as possible and use the rate calculator to confirm the savings.
I have my Tesla set to start charging at 8 PST for the lowest rate in the Winter and 9 PST for Summer.

 

[Merrill]

I think it depends on how much solar you have, I'm on E-7 with a second meter for the Tesla. This works for me because I do not have enough solar to compensate for my total usage and if I put the Tesla charging on top of that it puts me into the 5th tier. So in the summer 5 months of the year my net metering gives me a credit even with the car. I charge after midnight at the EVB off peak rate and the total cost to charge the car for 12 months and 10,000 miles is $150.

 

[eye.surgeon]

I have solar panels, and use PG&E in California. I have the EV rate plan with net metering for solar. I charge nightly. Best possible option for people with big homes/lots of use, because you get out of tiers completely.

 

[GuyGadois]

My solar is tiny and 8 years old (2.75 kWh)

 

[bmah]

Not correct. Weekends on EV-A have a full on peak period from 3 pm to 9 pm. Holidays also which were previously off peak.

Actually the EV-A weekend peak periods are 3PM to 7PM. See top of the fourth page of this file:

http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

Edit: Just for completeness, I'm on EV-A with NEM (pre-Tesla, I was E-1 with NEM).

 

[NorCalSJ]

has anyone followed PG&E's Submetering Pilot Program (registration for phase 1 is closed) Interesting program and if adopted can benefit us all in the future.

Here is some information:
Electric Vehicle Submetering Pilot | PG&E
Electric Motor Werks, Inc. - JuiceBoxâ„¢ PEV Pilot Offer - Frequently Asked Questions

 

[FlatSix911]

has anyone followed PG&E's Submetering Pilot Program (registration for phase 1 is closed) Interesting program and if adopted can benefit us all in the future.

Here is some information:
Electric Vehicle Submetering Pilot | PG&E
Electric Motor Werks, Inc. - JuiceBoxâ„¢ PEV Pilot Offer - Frequently Asked Questions

Is this program still available to PG&E customers?

 

[Tedkidd]

Seems it's over for now:

"Please note that the submetering equipment for the 1st phase of the pilot must be installed and be fully functional by by August 31, 2015. Participants may remain in the pilot for 12 consecutive billing periods."

has anyone followed PG&E's Submetering Pilot Program (registration for phase 1 is closed) Interesting program and if adopted can benefit us all in the future.

Here is some information:
Electric Vehicle Submetering Pilot | PG&E
Electric Motor Werks, Inc. - JuiceBoxâ„¢ PEV Pilot Offer - Frequently Asked Questions

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Khatsalano]

What tier are you in?

In general, there are very limited use cases, even with solar, in which E-6 or E-7 is better than EV-A. The lack of tiers in EV-A is far superior, especially if you use a lot of energy in your house or if you drive a lot. The more you use, the more EV-A becomes cheaper. I also have solar and EV-A works amazing, especially with later afternoon/Southwest exposure.

- K

 

[Lloyd]

Actually the EV-A weekend peak periods are 3PM to 7PM. See top of the fourth page of this file:

http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

Edit: Just for completeness, I'm on EV-A with NEM (pre-Tesla, I was E-1 with NEM).

You are correct, 3 to 9 pm is for weekdays, then partial peak to 11 pm.