this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2023
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Frankly, it’d be far better for the state, its finances, its residents, its energy infrastructure, and fire prevention across the state if they dismantled PG&E instead of this rooftop solar program.
It's almost as if deregulation of the energy industry was a bad move...
The amount of infrastructural, environmental, and societal damage done in the name of “deregulation” is truly appalling.
Well - they kinda needed the grid for this program. Basically, the incentive was you could install solar and send your excess power to the grid. Whatever you put on the grid, you could take back 1:1 when you needed it (ie. at night). Essentially, you could treat the grid as your battery, without needing to pay for a battery. This made the break even time horizon super short.
It also meant solar customers weren’t paying much for grid infrastructure and transmission costs.
Now, you can only draw back 25% of what you send to the grid. Getting a battery now makes more sense, but it’s also a big upfront cost.
Don’t get me wrong. PGE is evil incarnate and its execs should be sent to prison. The company should be seized by the public. Rates should be lowered on the backs of executive bonuses and salaries.
But, as a non-solar owner, I do think the previous deal was only going to increase costs for non-solar customers. It couldn’t last forever. Hopefully, the state does improve the current incentives just a bit though. More than anything though, the state needs to take control of PGE and fire the execs.
I’m talking about a permanent and irrevocable state takeover of the company. I grew up in California, and still have family there. PG&E has demonstrated that they are wildly inept - perhaps criminally so - for basically my entire life. They do not deserve to be a company.