You will still receive a monthly bill from your utility

 

There typically are 2 types of charges on your utility bill once you go solar:

1. Connection fee for using the utility’s grid and equipment

2. Energy fee for power you pull from the utility

 

How much energy you end up having to buy from the utility depends on:

• Your solar system’s production vs your electric consumption

• Whether you have a battery or not

• Time of year

 

Because of weather and seasonal changes, your utility bill will vary.

 

Credits from your Utility Company

 

The billing credits you earn for putting power back into the grid will help offset or cover your utility energy costs. 

 

This is a complex topic that requires more of a discussion rather than covering it all here. Yet, here are the basics:

• During the day when you are generating more solar power than you’re using, the extra power goes into the grid giving you credits with the utility. These credits are used to offset the power you pull off the grid at night.

• Starting April 2023 some of the utilities (such as Edison & PG&E) slashed the credits they give new solar customers by 75%. Existing solar customers are not impacted.

  • Now new solar customers in these areas are required to store their own extra power at home with a battery.

  • The upside is that now homes are minimizing their reliance on the utility and are on the path to becoming more self-reliant.