Does increasing the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the grid actually result in lower utility costs for all customers? That is just what a recently revised study found. The study shows that EV users are not receiving subsidies from other customers and that, in fact, they are driving prices … [continued]
Time of Use (TOU) pricing is a term used to describe a differential rate your utility can charge for electricity at different times of the day. TOU can help incentivize the use of renewables, and shift peak loads to help utilities in demand response. Effectively, that means the utility can … [continued]
As electric cars become more pervasive (hello, Tesla Model 3), the potential stress on the country’s electric grid increases. Many local utilities now offer Time of Use (TOU) plans to encourage consumers to shift their electricity usage from times of peak demand to times of low demand. TOU plans typically offer discounted rates on electricity used off-peak (normally at night or weekends) and surcharges on electricity used during peak hours (typically during the day on weekdays). But there are other ways to encourage a shift to off-peak power usage. One of these ways is the SmartCharge NY program.
This week, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted to keep the existing net metering regulation that plays a crucial role in enabling solar customers to generate power when they are not using it and “use it back” at a later time, only paying for the “net” usage on an annualized … [continued]
Recently, utility efforts to defeat solar have been exposed in several Western states. SolarCity has allied itself with Renew American Prosperity (RAS), an advocacy group funding Checks and Balances, a group dedicated to holding utility regulators accountable. Other solar companies have allied with The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), a … [continued]
Originally published on RMI Outlet. By Titiaan Palazzi and Sam Ramirez We are accustomed to buying our electricity from utilities: they provide us with power; we pay for it. To reduce our utility bill, we can reduce our electricity demand with efficiency (these negawatts have considerable value), or install distributed generation … [continued]
Below is another initial version of an article I wrote for The Economist Group’s GE Look Ahead website (months ago). This one focuses on how a 100% or nearly 100% distributed energy grid would work, assuming a hypothetical grid like this ever came about. Again, this article seemed like something that CleanTechnica … [continued]
[Update] This is an important comment from reader JimBouton: I was actually on this plan for about a year. It would be generous to say that it was a rip off. TXU misleads you by not including the TDU (transmission and other fees in their rate.) They are one of the … [continued]
Originally published on EV Obsession. A new app from OhmConnect known as “OhmHours” allows users to automatically lower energy consumption during peak hours via integration with various “smart home” devices, and get paid for it, according to an email recently sent to EV Obsession. One of the services that can be … [continued]
The folks at Utility Dive recently conducted its first annual survey of 500+ US utility professionals, “The State of the Electric Utility.” Overall findings? Utility insiders see the industry changing considerably over the coming decade, with a particular focus on greening the grid. Some of the overall findings included: 95% anticipate that … [continued]
