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PG&E TOU/EV Rate Times adjusted this year?
- Thread starter Scrith
- Start date
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- California USA
cpa
Active Member
Ulmo,
Why not. My suspicion is that the programming was lazy or sloppy in the determination of estimated usage during power outages. Maybe there is someone on this site who knows really how smart meters operate. My guess is that these meters send periodic information at set intervals throughout the day. If there is an outage, some electrical delivery or receipt will not be reported until the power is restored and the next interval sends the up-to-date information. In other words if these intervals are quarter-hours, any power delivered between the quarter-hour reading and the outage is lost. Similarly, when power is resumed, the power delivered from resumption to the next scheduled reading is too.
Regardless, company policy appears to err on the side of the company in this situation, and I think that approach is wrong.
Why not. My suspicion is that the programming was lazy or sloppy in the determination of estimated usage during power outages. Maybe there is someone on this site who knows really how smart meters operate. My guess is that these meters send periodic information at set intervals throughout the day. If there is an outage, some electrical delivery or receipt will not be reported until the power is restored and the next interval sends the up-to-date information. In other words if these intervals are quarter-hours, any power delivered between the quarter-hour reading and the outage is lost. Similarly, when power is resumed, the power delivered from resumption to the next scheduled reading is too.
Regardless, company policy appears to err on the side of the company in this situation, and I think that approach is wrong.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
Getting back to the thread topic: only one more week until the offset disappears.
I've tried to be lazy about shifting my usage. Of course the Tesla manages its own clock, so I had to change its start time from 23:05 to 00:05 — and in another week I'll have to change it back. Most of the rest of my kWh goes to heat. My place has three independent digital thermostats, each with a clock. I've left them alone so they still think it's PST. Same for the analog timer on the water heater. I'll have to remember to change them next Sunday.
I've tried to be lazy about shifting my usage. Of course the Tesla manages its own clock, so I had to change its start time from 23:05 to 00:05 — and in another week I'll have to change it back. Most of the rest of my kWh goes to heat. My place has three independent digital thermostats, each with a clock. I've left them alone so they still think it's PST. Same for the analog timer on the water heater. I'll have to remember to change them next Sunday.
Ulmo
Active Member
Ever since this was revealed in this thread, I've been wondering if the "Smart Meter" has static ram and/or battery backup so that it knows how much electricity is used in a power outage. If the power is on, it should be able to measure the usage. In other words, the Smart Meter design should have been, and might be, to always keep accurate records. So, when it is powered on again, it would just send the new updated number, and PG&E would know how much electricity was used, just not exactly when. Also, the smart meter could store some of the time use data, and send as much as it can when it turns back on, to have less loss of data. If any of this was true, then estimates would be fewer and billing more accurate.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
cpa
Active Member
To follow up on my previous post, we had a power outage on Thursday because of the extreme winds. We lost power for a little over an hour between 3:15 and 4:15 in the afternoon.
Lo and behold! Our energy "estimate" on our PG&E website actually showed an estimated receipt from us during the outage. They credited us with about 1 1/2 kWh for this period. This amount feels about right for that time of day and our PV installation.
It appears that PG&E taketh and PG&E giveth with their estimated received/delivered electricity during power outages.
Lo and behold! Our energy "estimate" on our PG&E website actually showed an estimated receipt from us during the outage. They credited us with about 1 1/2 kWh for this period. This amount feels about right for that time of day and our PV installation.
It appears that PG&E taketh and PG&E giveth with their estimated received/delivered electricity during power outages.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
It’s that time of year again. PG&E TOU will be offset 1-hr until the first Sunday in April.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
Semi-annual thread bump: PG&E EV TOU will be offset +1-hr for the next week, until the first Sunday in November.
https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV (Sch).pdf
https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV (Sch).pdf
SR-75
Member
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
Yes, PG&E EV rate Peak period will be 3pm-10pm this week, then back to normal 2pm-9pm when we actually go off Daylight Saving Time next week.
Eno Deb
Active Member
Thanks a lot for that. I just recently switched to the EV-A plan and wasn't aware of this. Have to move my charging start time to after 12am to use the off-peak rate.
This seems very sneaky. Is there any logical reason why they can't adjust when the rest of the country does, or is it just another trick to screw over unsuspecting customers?
This seems very sneaky. Is there any logical reason why they can't adjust when the rest of the country does, or is it just another trick to screw over unsuspecting customers?
The CPUC never forced PG&E to update their systems to conform to the new DST schedule that started in 2007. At the time, the digital TOU meters would have to be individually reprogrammed because they predated SmartMeters. Now, it's basically a software problem that they should be forced to update.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
Reminder for those still on the original EV-A rate plan: it's that time again.
From the small blessings dept: EV2 doesn't seem to have a DST adjustment.
https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV (Sch).pdf
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ADJUSTMENT: The time periods shown above will begin and end one hour later for the period between the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in April, and for the period between the last Sunday in October and the first Sunday in November.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ADJUSTMENT: The time periods shown above will begin and end one hour later for the period between the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in April, and for the period between the last Sunday in October and the first Sunday in November.
From the small blessings dept: EV2 doesn't seem to have a DST adjustment.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
Reminder: The newer rate plans like EV2-A and TOU-A/B/C/D do not have this legacy DST offset.
mblakele
FSD Beta (99)
Reminder for those still on the original EV-A rate plan: it's that time again, starting Sunday 14 March.
Folks on EV2 or TOU-A/B/C/D can ignore this.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ADJUSTMENT: The time periods shown above will begin and end one hour later for the period between the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in April, and for the period between the last Sunday in October and the first Sunday in November.
Folks on EV2 or TOU-A/B/C/D can ignore this.
