Unless you have storage, you are using the utility for services. It is no realistic to assume that they will do net metering forever, it simply does not allow them to fund the distribution network.
I honestly think the current rates for solar in-feed at places like Hawaiian electric are more fair to all parties, you get power at retail rates and send it back at about half the retail rate. This encourages battery storage adoption
and actually funds the distribution network.
From: NANOG <nanog-bounces+john=vanoppen.com@nanog.org>
On Behalf Of Sabri Berisha
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2021 11:43 AM
To: Haudy Kazemi <kaze0010@umn.edu>
Cc: nanog <nanog@nanog.org>
Subject: Re: Texas internet connectivity declining due to blackouts
Using the sample bill on the GA power website you linked, I see a bottom line price of
$76.17 for 606 kWh delivered to the customer. That is effectively 12.57 cents per kWh.
Utilities (both investor owned and coops) have a multitude of ways of hiding the effective price in a variety of fixed and variable fees not included in the nominal
'energy' fee. These include mandatory fixed connection fees and also fuel cost recovery fees that are tied to consumption.
Exactly. In a message earlier today which is held and presumably lost due to moderation, I shared screenshots of an actual bill of mine here in California.
Long story short, using that bill I show that I paid a grand total of $239.14 for 656.928 KwH of electricity. That makes 36.4 cents per KwH.
In addition to that, I also shared another bill, where I paid $2.63 for the privilige of providing the net with 31.993 KwH of energy. That's right. My solar panels
produced more power than I consumed and I still sponsored the crooks at PG&E.
Utility companies are worse than airlines when it comes to hidden fees and surcharges. They know we have no choice.
The only reason I want more solar panels is to give a bigger middle finger to PG&E. Nothing is a better motivator to go green than to see PG&E go bankrupt. It's
a sad state of affairs when the disgust for the utility company's deceptive practices somehow outweighs the need to save the planet. Yet here we are.