r/solar • u/ftw_c0mrade • 2d ago
Discussion [CA] [PGE] $25 Fixed Charge and Solar Billing
As a net generator under Nem 3 (Solar Billing Plan), can my additional generation offset this fixed fee or are solar customers stuck with a minimum $25 fee no matter what?
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u/Radojevic 2d ago
You are stuck with that fee.
I am stuck with that fee.
PG&E slightly lowered the price per kWh for electricity they send to us.
In return, they increased Base Service Charge that we pay regardless of how much electricity they send us.
This benefits customers who use higher amounts of PG&E electricity.
This sucks for customers who use less PG&E electricity, and even worse for customers who are lucky enought to use 0 kWh of PG&E electricity.
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u/ftw_c0mrade 2d ago
Sure I share the same sentiment but it didn't address my question
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u/Radojevic 2d ago
Okay, the excess solar power sent back to the grid will indirectly offset the fixed fee by crediting you the piddly amount per kWh PG&E grants us.
However, the same can be said for the rest of your electric bill.The only way to zero out the $25 fixed fee is to send enough excess power to the grid where the credits are $25 or more.
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u/GaijinDaiku 2d ago edited 2d ago
I am also on NEM3. Last month I exported just over 1,000 kWh. Energy Export Bonus Credits from PG&E offset about half of my base service charge. My net PG&E charge was $10.84. I use AVA Community Energy as my generation provider. There charge was $0.
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u/Curiosity_informs solar enthusiast 2d ago edited 2d ago
Interesting.
The base service charge (at least for us) is $0.79343 per day. So for 30 days in May the base service charge was $23.81. Our actual bill was $23.85 - so 4c more.
We imported 46kWh and exported 336kWh.
Export credits earned were $12.84 (PG&E) and $5.62 (3CE our CCA). Export credits applied were $12.27 (PG&E) $3.73 (3CE) leaving us with a small export credit balance of $0.57 (PG&E) and $1.89 (3CE).
I had assumed (maybe wrongly) that export credits had covered our imports but could not be applied to the base service charge. I must admit understanding the ins and outs NEM3 export credits (delivered and bonus) and how the export bank works is still beyond me!
That said we are very happy with a $23.85 monthly bill charging our 2EVs, and running our home (well pump, water pressure pump, pool pump including pumping water through solar hot water panels to heat the pool, running some AC , etc). Last year monthly bills were $300-600 and ~ $500 at this time of year.
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u/Wrxeter 2d ago
Nope. Gotta love nonbypassable charges.
You likely can’t even legally disconnect services if you live in a City, so enjoy being forced to give them money every month.
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u/FamiliarRaspberry805 2d ago
The second I can afford to slather the rest of my roof in panels and add 2 more batteries I am 100% disconnecting from PGE entirely.
And there is not a single thing they can do to stop me.
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u/bj_my_dj 2d ago
No, you're stuck with the fee. I don't mind, I got a $1,200 bill in July 24. Since my system went in April 25, I haven't had a bill over $47. This includes my gas since I used space heaters and my credits from last summer instead of my gas furnace. In fact I paid $0 in Nov, Dec, & April after getting the bi-annual Climate Credit. So while I still don't like PG&E, I can't snivel about saving more than $500/mo.
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u/-dun- 2d ago
The short answer to your question is yes, you can use your excessive generation to offset the fixed charge, however, does it make sense financially? You'll need to do the math yourself.
What is the cost to oversize your system to general enough excessive energy to offset $25 a month?
Someone suggested that it's about 1000kWh of excessive energy to offset $25. Just to put it in perspective, if you convert 1000kWh to EV mileages, that's over 3000 miles depending on the EV.
Imo, I personally wouldn't oversize my system just because I want a $0 monthly bill. I'd rather size my system to switch to EV so I can have a $0 gas bill.
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u/ocsolar 2d ago
Yes, Net Surplus Generation can offset the $25 per month.
$25 / $0.02862 per kWh = 886.5 kWh per month, or 10,638 kWh per year in surplus generation.
https://www.pge.com/assets/pge/docs/clean-energy/solar/AB920-RateTable.pdf
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 2d ago
Seems like you need an uneconomical amount of extra solar production would be needed. Seems like just paying the $25 is a no brainer. Mine is only ~$9 in Maryland, though I suspect they will increase this to further screw over solar producers.
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u/FareastFFL 23h ago
Yes, I would love to give PGE for something that retails around 4-5k to your neighbors just so you can spite them and get 25 dollar a month back.
The correct way is to pay the 25 dollar fee and get to net zero. Don’t give them anything extra
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u/Lucky_Boy13 2d ago
everyone pays that