going solar: expected bill? Advice Wtd / Project
I'm thinking about going solar in California, and trying to price it out. Based on my utility's rate plans (PG&E), I expect that the typical monthly cost will be something like $25 ($15 E-ELEC, $10 delivery charge) plus whatever I give/take to the grid.
One solar company mentioned that my utility essentially "taxes" solar arrays by charging a fixed amount per each kW of solar. But I cannot find anything online about this--either at the utility website, or searching via google. Can anyone who recently went solar in the Bay Area tell me what I can expect? Thank you!
Edit: Yes, I'll have a battery.
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u/SunPathSolutions 10h ago
There is a lot of speculation about what's going to happen with solar across the country. Some power companies do charge a minimum monthly connection fee, but it tends to be in the $15-25 range. Nowhere near enough to say solar isn't worth it.
I sense as the market matures, self generation of electricity is going to be embraced, the power companies will stop fighting it, and we'll find an equilibrium. Likely what will happen is these power companies will focus their attention on maintaining the grid, which we will still need, and let all the independent sources (homeowners and businesses) generate the electricity. Decentralizing our energy sources is beneficial for a host of reasons.
For right now you're looking at powering your home with the panels you purchase, storing some of that in batteries, and backfeeding as little as you can as they don't buy it from you at full retail cost anymore. It's not as good as net metering, but with batteries, it's really not that bad. It is a larger investment, but no one can look at the numbers and honestly say it's not worth it.
Happy to help when you're ready.