(http://bit.ly/2tAmPh7) We will now explore the three main trends that will encourage further grid defection: solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs),
utility demand charges, and battery pricing.
Not exact matches
The company has one Connecticut service station, in Milford, and five super-charging stations that can provide up to 170 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes, though the
charge rate depends on weather,
demands on the
utility grid, and other factors.
As we noted in a previous report, a proposal to the New York Public Service Commission has been submitted by Orange and Rockland
Utilities for a Tesla Powerpack system that could see a 70 % reduction in the
demand charges on customer electricity bills.
«
Utilities have altered their rate structures such that
demand charges are rising faster than overall energy rates, and businesses are bearing the bulk of those increases,» said Peter Rive, SolarCity's chief technology officer and chief operations officer.
The infrastructure challenges include installing tens of millions of
charging stations, strengthening the grid to handle electricity
demand by plug - ins, and changing
utility regulations to promote nighttime recharging
At night, the question becomes how do
utilities incentivize drivers to keep their cars off the charger through peak hours and begin
charging around midnight when
demand is not as high.
For commercial customers, whose
utility bills include
demand charges, the benefits of using Green Button data in the solar design process are a little more nuanced, so we will cover them in a later post.
As a solar professional, if you want to accurately communicate the value that a solar installation will provide to a commercial customer, it is critical to understand
demand charges and how they affect your client's
utility bill.
In the first quarter of 2016, six U.S.
utilities filed with regulators to add residential
demand charges, and 22 considered or enacted net metering changes.
Customers learned their lessons with smart meters: cool technology that benefits
utilities tends to raise rates, provides negligible access to customer data, and enables customer - unfriendly services (
demand charges and dynamic TOU rates).
EMAP: Pollution Probe developed the Electric Mobility Adoption and Prediction (EMAP) initiative as a predictive analytical tool to help
utility companies prepare for the expected increase in
demand for EV
charging in their communities.
Powerpack systems can be
charged when energy prices are low and discharged during peak
demand when
utility rates are high.
The basic premise of
demand response —
utilities charge large energy users a lower rate year - round in exchange for powering down during peak hours — has existed for decades.
For example, beginning this year, Germany instituted an open market for distributed energy generation, where wind and solar producers trade directly with consumers and prices are set by supply and
demand, along with a minimum service
charge for the
utility.
Most public
utilities commissions and other regulatory bodies have rejected residential
demand charges out of hand as being too confusing for consumers.
Elsewhere in the Golden State, southern Californians earn a $ 450
utility rebate for buying an EV; in the north, Pacific Gas & Electric completed an experiment where it paid BMW EV owners to delay
charging their vehicles as a way of reducing peak
demand.
If your
utility has
demand charges for residential customers, you'll be
charged a fee that changes depending on how much electricity you use.
Utilities in Arizona and Illinois, among others, are evaluating residential
demand charges.
While
demand charges are more common for commercial customers with big electricity bills, some states and
utilities are considering the addition of
demand charges to their electricity rates to motivate people to reduce their electricity use.
The
utility wants to better understand consumer behavior when offered fee - based
charging at different price points and different
demand response options.
Generally speaking, there are two pricing strategies that can protect a
utility from under - recovery of sunk costs: (a) increase flat rates while reducing kWh
charges, or (b) impose time - of - use (TOU) and / or
demand (kW)
charges.
In a recent news release, Exelon said, «To ensure the equitable sharing of grid costs,
utilities would recover residential delivery costs through a combination of
charges, including a
demand charge...» In other words, Exelon is hoping to
charge customers who install distributed rooftop solar.
With
utilities boosting their EV
charging services, and rave reviews coming in from those who actually get to test drive an electric vehicle, we may just find that the early ebb and flow of
demand turns into a steady trickle once familiarity and confidence kicks in.
«We had to make sure we were near to one of our main electrical rooms, as this reduced the need for trenching and wiring — which can add significant cost and hassle — and we also had to coordinate with our
utility to ensure that
demand for
charging didn't overpower the transformers for that particular block.
States with pending
utility proposals for new residential
demand charges as of 2015 include Arizona, California, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Some of them are also capable of reducing their electricity usage during peak periods and shift
charging to non-peak times as part of
utilities»
demand response programs.
The term «cost» as used herein means only those
charges specifically authorized by the electric
utility's tariff, including but not limited to the customer, energy,
demand, fuel, conservation, capacity and environmental
charges made by the electric
utility plus applicable taxes and fees to the customer of record responsible for the master meter payments.
Usually, your
utility company will
charge you a variable rate that changes depending on a variety of factors, including
demand.
There are two reasons why apartment complex owners may want to feature smart devices in their units: one being that they can potentially cut costs when it comes to
utility bills and secondly because the technology may be in such a high
demand in the future that owners will be able to
charge renters more for these luxury amenities.