Helping my son expand his solar in San diego before nem3

[nomadh]

He bought in 2016 and just lost his 1 to 1 energy credit to sdge and he's feeling it in his sdge bill.
there has been some buzz that if he does even a minor addition to his solar he can regain that 1 to 1 energy credit for another 7 years if he does if before April when nem starts. Am I understanding this right? Does anyone know more abut this? Gotchas, loopholes? Or is this even a thing at all? Just a fake from solar companies trying to make a rushed emergency sale?
thanks for the help

[nomadh]

Rereading differences in nem1 that I have vs nem 2 weren't as big as I thought. Only a few pennies a kw but 2.0 did require TOU. But it looks like tst was from the beginning of the contract. Calling sdge they said the reason my sons e bill went up is because his nem expired. Something changed. Did sdge just flat out lied? Is there something they could have changed around at year 7 to soak my kid?

[OCJ]

First, he probably didn't lose 1:1 net metering, that's NEM 1 and 2, and NEM 3 isn't in effect yet. What he might have lost is the tiered rate plan and been moved to time of use (TOU) or was under a more advantageous grandfathered TOU schedule.

https://www.sdge.com/residential/sav...grandfathering

There's probably someone here who is more familiar with those grandfathering periods.

I suggest he go back though all his bills and SDG&E correspondence and look for those changes. If you can't even tell me the actual name of the rate plan he's on then he/you needs to sit down and actually read a bill or two. If he is on current TOU now and can't go back, he (and you?) are going to need to learn how those credits are generated and used, about load shifting, and run an analysis on if EV-TOU2 can help. If he can't optimize the new TOU schedule and does want to install an additional system, then he needs to think fast as the April 14 NEM 3 deadline is rapidly approaching.

One other thing, look to see if he was opted into the CCA. By default I think the CCA uses "monthly True-Up" which will absolutely effect his bottom line. I believe you can switch to "annual True-Up" with the CCA or opt out of the CCA but specific timelines must be met and a request put in.

[nomadh]

First, he probably didn't lose 1:1 net metering, that's NEM 1 and 2, and NEM 3 isn't in effect yet. What he might have lost is the tiered rate plan and been moved to time of use (TOU) or was under a more advantageous grandfathered TOU schedule.

https://www.sdge.com/residential/sav...grandfathering

There's probably someone here who is more familiar with those grandfathering periods.

I suggest he go back though all his bills and SDG&E correspondence and look for those changes. If you can't even tell me the actual name of the rate plan he's on then he/you needs to sit down and actually read a bill or two. If he is on current TOU now and can't go back, he (and you?) are going to need to learn how those credits are generated and used, about load shifting, and run an analysis on if EV-TOU2 can help. If he can't optimize the new TOU schedule and does want to install an additional system, then he needs to think fast as the April 14 NEM 3 deadline is rapidly approaching.

One other thing, look to see if he was opted into the CCA. By default I think the CCA uses "monthly True-Up" which will absolutely effect his bottom line. I believe you can switch to "annual True-Up" with the CCA or opt out of the CCA but specific timelines must be met and a request put in.

Yes, I think it was a change in tou rules. Iirc sdge was looking to switch solar to tou unless you opted out. I bet he missed it. Have a yearly true up and no bill he probably wasn't looking for any sneaky double talk contract change.
of course it's a complete fraud to change a contract unless you happen to notice . We may have to go to war.

[Ampster]

Yes, I think it was a change in tou rules. Iirc sdge was looking to switch solar to tou unless you opted out. I bet he missed it. Have a yearly true up and no bill he probably wasn't looking for any sneaky double talk contract change.
of course it's a complete fraud to change a contract unless you happen to notice . We may have to go to war.

The rates are actually not a part of any NEM agreement. Therefore I do not think you have a contractual fraud issue.

[azdave]

...of course it's a complete fraud to change a contract...

Back in 2015, my utility tried to change the terms of their existing 20-year grid-tie contracts for all RE customers including mine. That would have extended my ROI from 7 years to over 12. I guess there may have been some customers who were lawyers because almost as soon as SRP announced the change, they then backtracked, apologized for the "confusion" and told everyone with signed agreements that the terms would stand as originally agreed. New customers have been offered a much less beneficial contract since then but at least they had a chance to not sign. To me, that was like signing for aloan at an agreed interest rate and then having the lender come back and try to increase the rate.

I don't know how you guys in California stay on top of all the options and changes I read about. It's like you need an advanced degree just to understand the billing. I count my blessings that I am on such a simple plan in Arizona with no TOU required for 12 more years. I make and consume energy at the same rate and they pay me wholesale if there is excess at the end of the year.

[J.P.M.]

I don't know how you guys in California stay on top of all the options and changes I read about. It's like you need an advanced degree just to understand the billing. I count my blessings that I am on such a simple plan in Arizona with no TOU required for 12 more years. I make and consume energy at the same rate and they pay me wholesale if there is excess at the end of the year.

Dave: I don't think any I.O.U. customers in CA like the policy shenanigans that go on around here but it ain't rocket science. IMO, the worst part and most onerous part is that the POCO's do a poor, almost cynical bordering on malicious job of keeping customers informed and explaining just what's going on in ways that the average customer can understand.
And while I'm no friend of any POCO, it also seems to me that the customer is not blameless in this, although to a lesser degree.
To wit: If one digs a bit - and not too far - explanations can be found in POCO filings and CA PUC proceedings and well as phone help from th POCO if the written stuff is vague to a reader.
POCOs are not babysitters, but they could do a lot more in the way of providing information that could be understood by the great unwashed masses, and the average customer could take some additional initiative and responsibility to be and stay better informed.
Ain't nobody clean in all this.

[J.P.M.]

My suspicion is that he was on grandfathered NEM rates which retained a lot of the benefits of the old T.O.U. rates and times.
All that expired for all eligible customers on 07/31/2022.

[Ampster]

My suspicion is that he was on grandfathered NEM rates which retained a lot of the benefits of the old T.O.U. rates and times.
All that expired for all eligible customers on 07/31/2022.

What NEM rates are you referring to? NEM agreements and rates are different issues. The only connection is that at some point in time some NEM agreements required customers to be on TOU rates but even those TOU rates had several options and were available to any customer who chose them. Some of the EV rate plans were grandfathered but the rates themselves changed every six months.

[J.P.M.]

What NEM rates are you referring to? NEM agreements and rates are different issues. The only connection is that at some point in time some NEM agreements required customers to be on TOU rates but even those TOU rates had several options and were available to any customer who chose them. Some of the EV rate plans were grandfathered but the rates themselves changed every six months.

OK, since the PUC allowed the grandfathered scenario transition rates that all the I.O.U.'s adopted and used in some form when NEM 2.0 came along, how about NEM enabled POCO adopted grandfather rates ?
That make you any happier ?

[Ampster]

My comment was for the benefit of other readers, and more specifically addressing the issue of nomadh , who thought he had a contractual fraud issue. I did not intend to sound critical. Many people associate rates with their NEM agreement. There is no reference to specific rates in either my NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 agreements with SCE or PG&E. I do not know about SDG&E?

NEM 3.0 is the first NEM ruling that has contained references to specific rates so now there will now be a more direct connection between specific rates and NEM 3.0.

[J.P.M.]

My comment was for the benefit of other readers, and more specifically addressing the issue of nomadh , who thought he had a contractual fraud issue. I did not intend to sound critical. Many people associate rates with their NEM agreement. There is no reference to specific rates in either my NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 agreements with SCE or PG&E. I do not know about SDG&E?

Yea, so was mine, but primarily for the OP's benefit.
I'm still a bit unclear precisely what the OP was trying to say in the original post et sec. and I was guessing his son was under grand fathered rates and NEM 2.0 which a lot of users got suckered into by what I consider deceptive or at least sneaky practices on SDG & E's part.
I'm also thinking that his son's rates went up when SDG & E's grandfathered rates went away for everyone on 07/31/2022.

Rates, rate schedules and rate structures are proposed by the POCOs based on and following policies and rules (like NEM,1,2,3') which are promulgated by the CA PUC.

[Ampster]

Based on this thread, I am happy that I am not in SDG&E territory, I knew the wife of the former President of Sempra and met him once or twice but I have no respect for their subsidiaries.

[OCJ]

Based on this thread, I am happy that I am not in SDG&E territory, I knew the wife of the former President of Sempra and met him once or twice but I have no respect for their subsidiaries.

Without solar, it sucks badly.

With enough solar, it has the most highly differentiated plans left of the 3 IOUs and allows significant leverage of super off-peak rates, especially if you have a battery.

In fact, with the Powerwall, I believe Tesla just opened up charging from the grid for many SDG&E customers, I know it just became enabled for me during the last month and several others have posted about it on different boards. I'm not using it as I installed in 2022 under the old ITC (although I did get the retroactive 30%) plus it's summer anyway but I do plan to continue to research it and take advantage of it next Winter.

With EV-TOU5 and EV-TOU2 I think they are the highest On-Peak differentials around, $0.816 On-Peak to $0.154 Super Off-Peak with EV-TOU5 and a $16 monthly fee, or $0.832 On-Peak to $0.285 Super Off-Peak for EV-TOU2 with the normal $0.380 minimum daily charge.

If I were not able to get solar, I'd put in a Sol-Ark 15k and 30 kWh of LFP and arbitrage the entire day off Super Off-Peak. I think this might become a great option for those who couldn't get in under NEM 3.0 especially if they didn't have the roof for it, or weren't yet ready to replace their roof underlayment.

With solar, Super Off-Peak ends at 6am most days so you start generating at Off-Peak for most months on weekdays starting at 6am. IF you can load shift, you can maximize your credits even if you are a net consumer in kWh annually.

I'm not saying they are angels and are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, because they are certainly not, but their 3 tiered rate plans do open up arbitrage opportunities for those willing to put in the work.

[Ampster]

I agree those rate differentials are attractive. Actually high rates have their benefits if some of them are during times when solar is generating.