Residential
Single family homes in the San Francisco Bay Area that are connected to the local utility grid (usually PG&E) are excellent candidates for solar electric systems. Our area has great solar exposure throughout the day and throughout the year.
Rememeber ENRON? Remember the energy crisis of 2001? Electricity rates are higher now than they were then and will stay that way for some time (thank you Gray Davis and the PG&E bailout). PG&E advertized an 11.8% rate increase this year. What they did not advertize was a 50% rate increase at the higher tiers:
|
2005 |
2007 |
% Increase |
| kWh Charge for up to 100% of BL |
$0.1143 |
$0.1143 |
0% |
| kWh Charge for 101-130% of BL |
$0.1299 |
$0.1299 |
0% |
| kWh Charge for 131-200% of BL |
$0.1781 |
$0.2272 |
28% |
| kWh Charge for 201-300% of BL |
$0.2194 |
$0.3172 |
45% |
| kWh Charge for 301+% of BL |
$0.2194 |
$0.3643 |
66% |
Take a look at this article...
"It looks like residential customers are really going to get hammered."
Given the high cost of electric power here in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, solar electricity is extremely affordable situations where monthly electricity usage is 200% of baseline or greater. The power that solar is replacing is this very expensive "over baseline" tiers (first).
Since solar electricity can cost less than PG&E, installing a solar electric system means that solar electricity will cost you less money than you pay to PG&E -- solar electricity is free compared to your current PG&E electric costs!
California rebate and Federal tax incentives can cut the cost of solar-produced electricity to less than what PG&E charges. You can be cash-flow positive Day 1! Financing the cost of solar electric systems via home equity loans is very affordable with current interest rates and the tax benefit of deducting interest expenses.
Most homes, ranches and farms find that much of their electric bill is at "over-baseline" prices for each monthly billing cycle, even with the conservation programs they've put in place.
Alternative billing programs available from PG&E (time-of-use metering) may save you even more by "selling" your solar-powered electricity back to PG&E at premium rates (31+ cents per kWh) during peak hours, while "buying" power at night at a fraction of that cost.
Sky Power Systems specializes in this market (2 kW to 20 kW in system size) and can provide a free site evaluation and financial analysis for you-- contact us today!
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