Urgent Notice for Solar Customers
SDG&E has been sending out emails to all customers offering time-of-use tariff information. I’ll start with the most important piece of information: If your solar array was operational on or before June 29, 2016, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT enroll in a time-of-use tariff. Systems installed prior to this date are grandfathered for 20 years on NEM 1.0. This means you will not be required to change to a time-of-use tariff along with all other SDGE customers. This grandfathering is lost if you opt in to a time-of-use tariff. You’ll almost assuredly spend more on a time-of-use tariff over those 20 years than you would on NEM 1.0.
Customers whose solar arrays were installed after June 29, 2016 may want to consider the DR-SES tariff. This tariff can be very beneficial to solar customers, but will likely be going away soon. If you opt in before the 27th of July, you may be able to keep this rate plan for 5 years before being forced onto another plan. This plan is ideal for customers who produce more energy than they use during the day, but use most of their grid power during the night.
During summer months, you’d be credited (or charged) 50.6¢ per kWh for power produced (or used) between 11AM and 6PM weekdays, but only charged (or credited) 25¢ per kWh from 6AM to 11AM and from 6PM to 10PM weekdays, and only 22.7¢ at all other times.
During winter months, you’d be credited (or charged) 23.6¢ per kWh from 6AM to 6PM weekdays, and credited or charged 22¢ per kWh at all other times. This is roughly equivalent to today’s tier one pricing, with no tiers. With this tariff, there is a minimum daily charge of 32.9¢, but this can be offset by overproduction credits earned during higher value periods.
There is more information available on SDG&E’s website.
All information contained in this email is based on the best information available to ALIVE. We are always keeping track of these developments in order to best serve our customers. ALIVE is not responsible for errors or omissions. Please confirm all this information with SDGE before making a decision. We’re always available to assist, and SDGE has solar specialists who can help as well. Our main concerns here are that NEM 1.0 customers maintain their NEM 1.0 grandfathered status, and that NEM 2.0 customers don’t miss the opportunity to join a beneficial tariff, although depending on usage patterns, this opportunity may not be beneficial to all NEM 2.0 customers. Since we don’t know that the future NEM tariffs will be, there is an element of the unknown in all this. We’ll continue to do our best to keep you posted as to the latest information.