URGENT to PG&E E-7 Customers - Rate Shaft Coming

The link isn't working for me, but that's good to know. Thanks!

 

On my PGE bill it says i have E6 SB Residential Time of Use Service.... so I should be okay ? Why did you have E7 before and not E6 ?

 

Thanks for your post. My solar went up in 2010 and I'm on E6. Unfortunately, after reading your links, it looks like even E6 will also go away in another 5 years or so.

 

I'm already on E-6, and they've already shafted me by doubling the minimum monthly charge to $10; that's an extra $60 a year that I wasn't planning on forking over when I installed the system last December.

Maybe I should start selling discount power to anybody that wants to charge their EV at my house. As of the end of October, I have about $170 worth of electricity that I could use before my bill would increase at all (on the annual "true-up" bill, which should come in December); I'll use maybe $40 of that myself, after accounting for what my solar system will continue to produce and the next two months of minimum charges. So that means I have about 750 kWh to spare. Anybody want some? (BYO L2 Charger )

 

macman408, I am in a similar situation, with $80+ in credit that does not get to offset the new delivery fee of $10+ a month. Since the annual true-up is coming next month, I have switched to using electric space heaters to heat my house instead of the natural gas fired furnace. A little bit more inconvenient but hack better than being "scammed" off by PG&E.

 

Yes, I know of this. I have a net credit in $ but not in kWh. So the credit will be wasted if I don't use it. Like I said, I am currently using electric space heaters to heat my home.

When I installed the solar panels, the installer advised me that it is more cost effective to just have a system that is sufficient to eliminate the 2nd tiers and higher. My current system is sized in this way.

 

Yep, I'm aware of that as well. I'm probably on track to get about a $2 credit for excess kWh production.

Makes me wish I had more electric appliances; heat, stove, hot water, and clothes dryer are all gas. There's a wall-mounted electric heater in the bedroom that I wanted to try using, but I discovered that a previous owner used half of the 240V circuit to power the ceiling fan they added, and then disconnected the other side of the 240V connection. Since I have no idea what they did to the wires in the wall, I'm not about to try hooking it back up...

...Oh well, just more incentive to get that EV, right? Or move to a different state... For $1000, SolarCity will move my solar panels to a different house!

 

the total irony / BS about this is that it flies in the face of Schwarzenegger's signed in legislation from years ago. Those stated goals/ rates are supposed to reflect encouragement of PV. Yet each new rule games it for the utility that much more. They pay you bare bones for your summer surplus - then sell it to your neighbors for a 10 fold premium .... all the while crying how pv hurts poor people because we get a break. Really? You pay $30k up front for your juice ... it stabilizes a weak grid ... & somehow we become bad people. Gotta love it.
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Utility exec's don't have to fear the governor - they make sure that the utility lobby pays handsomely to their re-election campaigns - regardless of what side is in power. From there - it's a free ride, until their incompetency outweighs their pay. That often happens pretty quickly;
Yahoo, HP, PG&E showered departing execs with millions - San Jose Mercury News

Not bad - contractually getting to leave with a ton of dough - even as your glaring failures manifest. This kind of travesty has gone on for decades, and it won't likely end very soon - sad to say. PG & E is not alone - SoCal Edison is in the same predicament. It's part of the reason that San Onofre nuke is offline forever, even as the nuclear waste sits, languishing for someplace to be stored in the very distant future - hopefully before some tsunami carries it miles and miles inland.
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It sounds like the folks unhappy about the increased monthly minimum have over powered their system out of the "savings range" and into the "nice to have so much power range". I was told before installing that excess energy beyond my annual usage would be sold back to PG&E at a very low rate so the design goal was to save 80% of my annual cost. My investment after rebates was $12K and I've been saving over $1000 per year compared to previous E1 rates. 1st year on EV (similar to E7) $1080, 2nd year on E6 $1220. 3rd year on track to be similar to 2nd year. The various and frequent rate changes haven't made much difference. I don't know how my present system would compare if I had previously use a TOU rate but I suspect a TOU without solar would be a disaster, we love our A/C.

 

I wonder if SCE will be changing up their rates soon as well again.

 

Does E6 make sense without a PV system? Most of my appliances are efficient natural gas, but my house and has no upgrades other than poorly installed double-pane windows. The current bill hovers around $300 in winter and $500 in summer. I'm currently on the EV-A plan, which allows me to charge my PiP during off-peak hours. I was considering installing a PV system when the roof needs to be re-done in 5 years. Is that still a wise move or has PG&E reduced the financial incentives of PV systems? Sorry for the newb questions - I am still learning about PG&E plans.

 

On page 11 of the second document from the link you provided, its states

"Existing E-7 customers may also elect to transfer to Schedule E-6 if they have submitted an E-6 rate change request one month prior to the date on which Schedule E-6 is closed to new customers."

Also, anyone read the following article from the LA Times?
Why rooftop solar advocates are upset about California's clean-energy law - LA Times

I guess we have our legislators partly to blame for PG&E's changes.