PG&E’s Hidden Rate Hike for Businesses

Early this fall, PG&E’s non-residential customers received a notice that their rate schedules would soon be changing to “Time Varying” metering. This change went into effect November 1st. What does this mean for local businesses?

Time Varying, or Time of Use metering means that when you consume electricity means as much as how much electricity you consume. Traditionally, consumers could control their energy costs by controlling how much energy they consumed. Now they must also control when they consume energy. This is difficult to do for businesses with set hours of operation.

The Bad News:

Time Varying metering means that energy consumed during “peak” periods is charged at a higher rate. Peak periods are defined as Monday through Friday, 9 am to 6 pm. Additionally, energy used during these periods in the summer is charged at an even higher rate. Unfortunately, these time periods coincide with normal working hours. As a result, most PG&E business customers will see an increase in their energy costs.

The Good News:

The good news is that Solar produces at its maximum during the exact times that PG&E’s Time Varying metering 
charges its highest rates. Since solar produces the most electricity during peak usage times, customers are credited for their production at the higher rates. This higher credit offsets increased energy charges from PG&E. If you are also able 
to reduce your energy consumption through simple changes like switching to energy efficient lighting, you can save 
even more.

Financing:

There are many attractive finance options for non-residential customers, from leases to purchases. Additionally, businesses switching to solar can still take advantage of a 30% Federal Tax credit and a rebate from the state. Non-profits can still take advantage of the state rebate and there are now several finance options available.
 

Take charge of your power now!
Going solar can save your business money
And allow you to invest in your future.

Now is the time to switch to solar

NOW IS THE TIME TO SWITCH TO SOLAR
Linda Tolliver Terry, Manager at Solar Works

In two weeks, most PG&E customers in California can expect to see a 10% increase in their gas and electricity bills. PG&E rates have increased an estimated 5% annually for the last ten years, so this latest increase is almost double the historical average.  PG&E uses a complex electrical rate plan with four tiers of billing. The plan charges progressively higher rates for each tier. Effective June 20th, PG&E will reduce rates for high-usage Tier 4 customers by 17.6%. For a typical customer in our area, the more electricity you use, the higher the rate you pay. A recent ruling by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) seeks to narrow the gap between the low-usage and high-usage customers. To offset the reduction for the high-usage users, PG&E will be raising rates on most customers by roughly 10%.

Following the upcoming rate hike for most customers, PG&E will also be increasing rates by about 30% for their low-income users enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program. PG&E will implement the rate increase on their low-income customers by creating a third Tier in the CARE program. According to PG&E’s website, rate increases for residents enrolled in the CARE program will not go into effect until November 1st. This increase is expected to upset many ratepayer and senior advocates.

“Many people at this point are choosing between paying for food, or paying for medicine. Any increase, even just a little bit, could be very harmful,” said Laurence Steinberg of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living. According to Katie Worth of the SF Examiner, many ratepayers and customer advocates have characterized the approved rate changes as effectively stealing from the poor to give to the rich. “We are supposed to be encouraging people to use less energy. We are supposed to be encouraging people to cut carbon emissions. You don’t do that by raising their rates for using less. You do that by rewarding them for using less,” said TURN Executive Director Mark Toney.

News of PG&E's increase comes on the heels of the Federal Commerce Department's recent proposal to levy a 30% tariff on Chinese made solar modules.  Over the past year and a half, module pricing hit record lows, driven by a flood of panels being shipped from China at rock bottom prices.  The practice spurred the US Commerce Department to accuse the Chinese of selling panels below production costs.  A small tariff was imposed in February, but the 30% tariff, to be ratified in the fall, is almost certain to cause the cost of all solar modules to increase.  After over a year of record low pricing on most modules, Solar Works has seen module prices begin to creep back up over the last month.  Additionally, we are anticipating a product shortage by 4th quarter of 2012 as contractors grab up modules in advance of pricing increases, the expiration of the federal bonus tax depreciation for businesses, and possibly the expiration of the CSI rebates.  The rebates, part of the California Solar Initiative that started in 2007 are in their final step and expected to expire by the end of the year.

In short, solar waters are choppy right now.  Solar Works is encouraging homeowners and business owners who are thinking about solar to move forward quickly in advance of the price increases and before the CSI rebate ends and federal tax incentives are reduced.  The good news is that right now, module pricing is still much lower than it was just 18 months ago and we've had an explosion in finance options in that same time frame.  Residential homeowners are able to take advantage of numerous attractive leases and Sonoma County residents and businesses can utilize the County's ground breaking finance program SCEIP to finance their projects.  Solar Works is even able to offer leases to non-profit organizations for a short time.  There has simply never been a better time to switch to solar than right now.

Big victory for net metering in California!

Friends-

We won! Thanks to the 60,000 of you who showed support for net metering, California will continue to be increasingly powered by the sun. 

Today, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously voted to give more Californians access to net metering credit for solar power. The 5-0 vote will protect this important solar consumer right for tens of thousands of California homes, schools, businesses and public buildings.

Net metering makes sure solar customers get fair credit on their utility bills for the valuable clean power they put on the grid for others to use (watch this video to see how net metering works). This important solar policy has already delivered tremendous benefits to California: supported 25,000 solar jobs, driven $10 billion in private investment in the state’s clean energy industry, given thousands of homeowners, schools, water districts, industrial users, and cities control over their electricity bills, and installed 2 natural gas plants worth of valuable peak solar power generation that our utilities won’t have to build and you won’t have to fund. 

Another great video that I just *had* to share!

 Look at this!  It is a time lapse video of a huge installation we did in 2009 at Navarro Vineyards.  Great wines grown in, and powered by, golden sun shine.  What is not to love about that?!?!?  And the song is great too, so be sure to pump up those speakers.

A Little Solar Astronomy...

This is a great time for those who watch the sun.

On Sunday there will be a very noticeable solar eclipse starting at 5:30 p.m., peaking at 6:30 and ending by 7:30.  The next eclipse in Northern California will not be until New Year's Eve 2252, so do not miss this once-in-a-life-time event.

There is also a very rare transit of Venus across the sun coming June 5th and 6th. This occurs when Venus crosses between the earth and the sun. (The solar eclipse this Sunday is a result of the Moon crossing between the earth and the sun.) The transit will not be as obvious as the solar eclipse, but there are ways to do it safely. These transits are super rare- the next one is not for over 105 years.

Please note that Solar Works wants you to view the sun safely and reminds you to NEVER EVER look directly at the sun.

Solar Works crew visits Enphase's Roadshow

Last week, Solar Works' Brandon, Johncaleb and John M. visited the Enphase Roadshow.

Play the video below to see them having a great time out there, learning new stuff and making new friends. (and no- much to my chagrin, they did not bring home the cockatoo)

Turn on your volume to rock out with our guys!

We want MORE rooftop solar, not less!

The people over at Sierra Club are getting the word our about this incredibly important California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) action.  We, at Solar Works, hope that you will read the following, sign the petition and tell all your friends.

Stay informed!

The Sierra club writes:

"California is on the verge of a game-changing decision that could help nearly double the amount of rooftop solar power in our state.

"The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will vote this month on a plan that would fix a loophole which currently allows utilities to unfairly limit rooftop solar energy in California.

"Naturally, many utilities are fighting back hard. They don't want their customers to have access to cheaper, cleaner energy solutions and are fighting to keep their monopoly. But if the PUC hears from enough Californians there's a very good chance they could move forward with this important plan which would be a boon to rooftop solar power in the Golden State.

Tell the Public Utilities Commission: Support rooftop solar in California!

"Rooftop solar is an increasingly affordable way to offset your energy bill -- many Californians can now go solar for no money down and start saving money right away. When a rooftop solar array produces more energy than it uses, that energy goes into the grid, and utilities credit the customer on their electric bill. We call this credit a solar rollover credit.

"Utilities are supposed to make available solar rollover credits to customers equaling 5% of California's energy demand. But, utilities use a skewed formula resulting in about half the solar rollover credits than the law originally intended. This keeps more customers unfairly locked into their utility's dirty and increasingly expensive electric bill.

"The proposal at the PUC would fix the problem, making more solar rollover credits available to more Californians.

"Continuing rooftop solar expansion in the Golden State is critical to cleaning up our air, fighting climate change, and bringing much needed jobs and savings to Californians. But the PUC needs to hear from a lot of Californians to make it happen. Please submit a comment now.

Thanks for all you do to grow local clean energy in California,

"Evan Gillespie
Sierra Club

"P.S - Once you've taken action, please forward this message to your friends and family!"