Solar PV News

[SageBrush]

Not having a standby charge would be wrong. The connection is analogous to renting a generator. You wouldn't expect to get the generator provided and maintained for free and only to have to pay for the fuel.

Understood, but the utilities have a long and wretched history of using reasonable arguments for unreasonable monopoly gouging and abuse of the 10% ROI provision. Abuse, as in building assets that are poorly considered.

For me, the bottom line is I trust them to be scum so I would not hand over a blank check. And no, the PUC is not an effective gatekeeper because they are too often manned by politicos, rather than technocrats with the community interest in mind.

 

[Merrill]

Understood, but the utilities have a long and wretched history of using reasonable arguments for unreasonable monopoly gouging and abuse of the 10% ROI provision. Abuse, as in building assets that are poorly considered.

For me, the bottom line is I trust them to be scum so I would not hand over a blank check. And no, the PUC is not an effective gatekeeper because they are too often manned by politicos, rather than technocrats with the community interest in mind.

Unfortunately I do not trust the utilities at all, they do not look at what is good for their customers just how they can make more money. The biggest problem is no critical oversight by the PUC.

 

[mspohr]

Understood, but the utilities have a long and wretched history of using reasonable arguments for unreasonable monopoly gouging and abuse of the 10% ROI provision. Abuse, as in building assets that are poorly considered.

For me, the bottom line is I trust them to be scum so I would not hand over a blank check. And no, the PUC is not an effective gatekeeper because they are too often manned by politicos, rather than technocrats with the community interest in mind.

The 10% ROI is a huge problem. They are incentivized to build expensive stuff without regards to customers or the environment.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Unfortunately I do not trust the utilities at all, they do not look at what is good for their customers just how they can make more money. The biggest problem is no critical oversight by the PUC.

This sort of thing makes me glad my electricity connection is to a rural member-owned co-op. Our co-op is very solar net metering friendly because we, the membership, are.

 

[Merrill]

This sort of thing makes me glad my electricity connection is to a rural member-owned co-op. Our co-op is very solar net metering friendly because we, the membership, are.

We are part of a CCA which is very green energy oriented but all the energy schedules and costs are from our utilities.

 

[SmartElectric]

“Standby charges ensure customers pay for the critical transmission and distribution infrastructure for the investor-owned utility to provide safe and reliable service,” Shiroma said.

It's been posed upthread that utilities may eventually move to a flat fee model, use all the electricity you want for a flat monthly price.

People love "all you can eat buffet", closer to home : people screamed when Tesla dropped free supercharging even if they don't use it.

I think that a flat fee electric production, delivery, transmission is a forward thinking (but ugly and wrong IMHO) move by if utilities believe that people will move to EV's, heat pumps and other electric focused technologies (and away from oil based) because people love "free" stuff and this will keep them in business while the fossil industry shrinks, kill off your major competitor, THEN when you've got us where you want, add a rate structure back in.

 

[mspohr]

'California and Texas are warnings': blackouts show US deeply unprepared for the climate crisis
To address all of these issues, scientists and advocacy groups are increasingly pushing for a decentralized power system that empowers communities to generate and store their own energy, using renewable sources – while investing in infrastructure that will allow regions to share power when disaster strikes.
Microgrids – small, self-contained power systems that could draw from rooftop solar panels, nearby wind turbines and other sources, as well as larger regional grids – would allow communities to generate and ration their own electricity, Von Meier said. “A neighborhood could essentially operate as a small power island,” she said. When the larger grid goes down due to natural disasters, a community could still keep basic infrastructure, hospitals and other necessities running with locally sourced energy.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

EIA Electric Power Monthly - February 2021 (to December 2020 and full year 2020)

Solar lags wind by a lot, but continues to grow.

3.254.7MW of new utility scale solar was added, taking the total to 47,848.2MW. Planned 12-month solar capacity additions increased by 4,939.3MW to 16,587.5MW.

Utilty-scale solar generation for December 2020 was 5.38TWh, up from 3.49TWh in 2019.

Including estimated small-scale generation, in December solar was was 7.91TWh, 2.28% of US generation compared to 1.63% a year ago. That brought the rolling share to 3.27%, up from 2.57% a year ago.

Estimated total solar generation was above 10TWh each month from April to October. With the large increase in capacity in 2020, and the large increase forecast for 2021, we can expect the range to be March to November at least, with December a possibility, and then February added from 2022.

Utility scale generation was above 10TWh only in July 2020. In 2021 we can expect utility scale solar generation to exceed 10TWh between April and August at least, with September also possible.

12 month rolling estimated solar plus wind generation was 11.61% of generation.

Solar

Solar

Utility Solar:

Capacity (MW):

Period	Prior	Change	New	Change
Month	44,593.5	3,254.7	47,848.2	7.30%
YTD	37,468.3	10,379.9	47,848.2	27.70%
Rolling	37,468.3	10,379.9	47,848.2	27.70%
Plan +12mo	14,902.9	4,939.3	16,587.5	34.67%

Generation (GWh):

Year	Month	YTD	Rolling	Month %	YTD%	Rolling
2019	3,494	71,937	71,937	1.03%	1.73%	1.73%
2020	5,381	90,891	90,891	1.55%	2.24%	2.24%
Difference	1,887	18,954	18,954	0.52%	0.52%	0.52%

Small Scale Solar:

Capacity (MW):

Period	Prior	Change	New	Change
Month	27,048.7	674.9	27,723.6	2.50%
YTD	23,213.6	4,510.0	27,723.6	19.43%
Rolling	23,213.6	4,510.0	27,723.6	19.43%

Generation (GWh):

Year	Month	YTD	Rolling	Month %	YTD%	Rolling
2019	2,046	34,957	34,957	0.60%	0.84%	0.84%
2020	2,526	41,740	41,740	0.73%	1.03%	1.03%
Difference	480	6,783	6,783	0.12%	0.19%	0.19%

Total Solar:

Capacity (MW):

Period	Prior	Change	New	Change
Month	71,642.2	3,929.6	75,571.8	5.49%
YTD	60,681.9	14,889.9	75,571.8	24.54%
Rolling	60,681.9	14,889.9	75,571.8	24.54%

Generation (GWh):

Year	Month	YTD	Rolling	Month %	YTD%	Rolling
2019	5,541	106,894	106,894	1.63%	2.57%	2.57%
2020	7,907	132,631	132,631	2.28%	3.27%	3.27%
Difference	2,366	25,737	25,737	0.64%	0.71%	0.71%

 

[mspohr]

California’s rate inequality is likely to worsen as energy transition advances

Designing Electricity Rates for An Equitable Energy Transition | Next 10

The report outlined potential changes in how utility fixed costs, as well as environmental and low-income program costs, are recovered. It recommended raising revenue from sales or income taxes as a more progressive approach than the current system. It said such a shift would help ensure that higher-income households pay a higher share of the costs. That approach might prove controversial, and the report said that a “potentially more politically feasible option” would focus on rate reform; here, utilities would move to an income-based fixed charge. That charge would still allow long-term capital costs to be recovered across all system users. It also would keep costs “affordable for all families,” the report said. In this model, wealthier households would pay a higher monthly fee in line with their income. Such an income-based fixed charge would be based on three criteria, the report said: 1) setting prices as close to cost as possible, 2) recovering the full system cost, and 3) and distributing the burden of cost recovery fairly.

 

[mspohr]

Vermont utility building microgrid to provide backup power for town

GMP said Panton is the perfect place for this project because it leverages the utility’s existing 4.9 MW solar facility with utility-scale batteries already up and running in the town. GMP noted it will be among the first utilities in the country to island a distribution circuit using inverter-based sources with no reliance on fossil fuel generation backup.
GMP also continues to deploy batteries in customers’ homes and businesses. According to the utility, there are about 3,000 home battery systems in its service area that provide power to customers during outages, as well as help save money for all utility customers by driving down cost on peak energy days.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

California’s rate inequality is likely to worsen as energy transition advances

Designing Electricity Rates for An Equitable Energy Transition | Next 10

The report outlined potential changes in how utility fixed costs, as well as environmental and low-income program costs, are recovered. It recommended raising revenue from sales or income taxes as a more progressive approach than the current system. It said such a shift would help ensure that higher-income households pay a higher share of the costs. That approach might prove controversial, and the report said that a “potentially more politically feasible option” would focus on rate reform; here, utilities would move to an income-based fixed charge. That charge would still allow long-term capital costs to be recovered across all system users. It also would keep costs “affordable for all families,” the report said. In this model, wealthier households would pay a higher monthly fee in line with their income. Such an income-based fixed charge would be based on three criteria, the report said: 1) setting prices as close to cost as possible, 2) recovering the full system cost, and 3) and distributing the burden of cost recovery fairly.

The idea that "utilities would move to an income-based fixed charge" is an outstandingly dumb idea.
You just want costs distributed accurately.
Fixed costs have fixed prices.
Variable costs have variable prices.
If costs depend on kW, price by kW.
If costsdepend on kWh, price by kWh.
Then if low-income households have problems affording electricity, the problem is not with electricity pricing.

 

[miimura]

The idea that "utilities would move to an income-based fixed charge" is an outstandingly dumb idea.
You just want costs distributed accurately.
Fixed costs have fixed prices.
Variable costs have variable prices.
If costs depend on kW, price by kW.
If costsdepend on kWh, price by kWh.
Then if low-income households have problems affording electricity, the problem is not with electricity pricing.

I agree 100% that if people cannot afford basic electric service, the problem is not the electric rate structure, but rather the economics of the society. Things like EIC tax payments and other welfare programs should account for this.

 

[mspohr]

The idea that "utilities would move to an income-based fixed charge" is an outstandingly dumb idea.
You just want costs distributed accurately.
Fixed costs have fixed prices.
Variable costs have variable prices.
If costs depend on kW, price by kW.
If costsdepend on kWh, price by kWh.
Then if low-income households have problems affording electricity, the problem is not with electricity pricing.

It looks like the problem is:
"Residential customers of California’s three largest investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are being charged as much as two to three times more for electricity than it actually costs to produce and distribute, an inequality that impacts low- and moderate-income people the most."

If low income people were actually being charged the cost of the electricity by kWh then their bills would be much lower. The question is how to allocate fixed costs (distribution, etc.). They recommend sales taxes (regressive) and income taxes (progressive) to subsidize fixed costs.

 

[mspohr]

I agree 100% that if people cannot afford basic electric service, the problem is not the electric rate structure, but rather the economics of the society. Things like EIC tax payments and other welfare programs should account for this.

How about Universal Basic Income?
How about solar PV subsidies for low income communities?

 

[h2ofun]

How about Universal Basic Income?
How about solar PV subsidies for low income communities?

How about just call if what you want, socialism. We see how other places are doing with it. If this country is so bad,
why do so many try to get in?

 

[SageBrush]

How about solar PV subsidies for low income communities?

My main objection to this is that people waste what they do not value.

If low-income people are willing to do the work themselves, PV is already dirt cheap
Moreover, at least where I live the low income people have much better construction skills and experience than other wage groups.

If "help" is to offered, I suggest

• financing, so that the monthly savings of the utility bill can be used to pay off the loan
• planning expertise

This is the kind of PV volunteer work I joined in Colorado at solarbarnraising.org. It was, and is, very successful

 

[SageBrush]

Residential customers of California’s three largest investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are being charged as much as two to three times more for electricity than it actually costs to produce and distribute

You are reading funky accounting. I am not in CA but even I know at least *some* of the missing costs:

1. Utility expenses to run the service: billing, customer support, administration
2. Transmission costs
3. Demand charges
4. Debt servicing
5. Climate mitigations
6. Infrastructure O&M
7. Resiliency mitigations
8. Reliability mitigations

I don't know enough to say whether the CA IOUs are run well or not; I am only saying that your stance is poorly argued by being so incomplete and biased.

 

[mspohr]

You are reading funky accounting. I am not in CA but even I know at least *some* of the missing costs:

1. Utility expenses to run the service: billing, customer support, administration
2. Transmission costs
3. Demand charges
4. Debt servicing
5. Climate mitigations
6. Infrastructure O&M
7. Resiliency mitigations
8. Reliability mitigations

I don't know enough to say whether the CA IOUs are run well or not; I am only saying that your stance is poorly argued by being so incomplete and biased.

TFA explains all of that.
The question is how to pay for all those expenses beyond the cost of power.

 

[mspohr]

My main objection to this is that people waste what they do not value.

If low-income people are willing to do the work themselves, PV is already dirt cheap
Moreover, at least where I live the low income people have much better construction skills and experience than other wage groups.

If "help" is to offered, I suggest

• financing, so that the monthly savings of the utility bill can be used to pay off the loan
• planning expertise

This is the kind of PV volunteer work I joined in Colorado at solarbarnraising.org. It was, and is, very successful

I think this is a good approach to the problem.

 

[mspohr]

How about just call if what you want, socialism. We see how other places are doing with it. If this country is so bad,
why do so many try to get in?

Socialism is public ownership of business. This would be a good solution. Public utilities have a good track record of lowering costs and being more responsive to consumers. As PGE and SCE show, having private ownership of utilities doesn't work well. They don't make necessary improvements and skim excessive profits.