Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Many SDG&E and Sempra Ads, but None about AB 920

Utilities to Pay for Confiscated Electricity?

Among the plethora of new laws taking effect on January 1, 2010, is a new law (AB 920, from October 2009) that finally requires electric public utilities such as San Diego Gas & Electric Company to pay a wholesale rate for excess electricity from ratepayers who generate more solar or wind-generated electricity than they can use.

There has been no mention of AB 920 or its effects in any advertising by SDG&E or Sempra Energy, despite the accumulated hours and days of television advertising from them that tells us how we need them every day.

This one footnote to the AB 920 web page of environmentcalifornia.org states that, "According to SDG&E, the utility received over 351 kWh of surplus electricity from the roughly 2,000 solar customers in their territory. Assuming a similar experience in the other utility territories, and assuming an average system size of 5 kW generating at a 18% capacity factor, we calculate that more than 500 Californians are experiencing a loss of surplus power each year."

In SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink application that was recently approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, SDG&E alleged that residential solar electricity production was 3.3 kW, just two-thirds of the Environment California estimate in its web page footnote. Given that discrepancy, it appears that Environment California significantly underestimates the number of ratepayers that were never compensated for confiscated electrons.

Unpaid Confiscation to Stop Now? Not Likely.

Ordinarily, a law that goes into effect on January 1 is enforceable on the same day. According to Peter Wagner's editorial letter this morning in our distinguished daily's Sunday edition, "On calling SDG&E, however, I was informed that there was so many 'details to be resolved,' implementation [of AB 920] will not happen until January 2011."

Of course, January 2011 is not a firm date, as CPUC must hold hearings and accept public comments before setting a "reasonable" wholesale rate that investor-owned utilities must pay to ratepayers for their excess electricity.

One would think that SDG&E's new CPUC-approved "smart meters" would immediately credit excess electricity production to the ratepayers who produced it, but apparently not.

Talk to Michael Shames at UCAN for his take on how long CPUC takes to make a decision.

What You Can Do

On a personal note, I am still recommending that individual ratepayers consider setting up small home solar panel kits for removing a few of their smaller household appliances off the grid. This should eliminate any concern regarding SDG&E confiscation without payment of excess ratepayer-generated electricity, at least until CPUC actually sets the ratepayer wholesale rate for excess production. Also, it avoids any concern over getting paid at a lower rate than SDG&E would bill out to energy-conserving consumers. As the number of ratepayers who voluntarily reduce their consumption of SDG&E electricity increases, more of us will have more to spend elsewhere in the economy than on SDG&E for Sempra Energy to maintain its high dividend payout rate at close to 40% of retained earnings to stock speculators, hedge fund operators, and the like.

In addition, I urge all interested California ratepayers to write to CPUC, asking for a quick hearing and setting of the wholesale rate to be paid for confiscated electricity.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island

Utilities to Pay for Confiscated Electricity?

Among the plethora of new laws taking effect on January 1, 2010, is a new law (AB 920, from October 2009) that finally requires electric public utilities such as San Diego Gas & Electric Company to pay a wholesale rate for excess electricity from ratepayers who generate more solar or wind-generated electricity than they can use.

There has been no mention of AB 920 or its effects in any advertising by SDG&E or Sempra Energy, despite the accumulated hours and days of television advertising from them that tells us how we need them every day.

This one footnote to the AB 920 web page of environmentcalifornia.org states that, "According to SDG&E, the utility received over 351 kWh of surplus electricity from the roughly 2,000 solar customers in their territory. Assuming a similar experience in the other utility territories, and assuming an average system size of 5 kW generating at a 18% capacity factor, we calculate that more than 500 Californians are experiencing a loss of surplus power each year."

In SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink application that was recently approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, SDG&E alleged that residential solar electricity production was 3.3 kW, just two-thirds of the Environment California estimate in its web page footnote. Given that discrepancy, it appears that Environment California significantly underestimates the number of ratepayers that were never compensated for confiscated electrons.

Unpaid Confiscation to Stop Now? Not Likely.

Ordinarily, a law that goes into effect on January 1 is enforceable on the same day. According to Peter Wagner's editorial letter this morning in our distinguished daily's Sunday edition, "On calling SDG&E, however, I was informed that there was so many 'details to be resolved,' implementation [of AB 920] will not happen until January 2011."

Of course, January 2011 is not a firm date, as CPUC must hold hearings and accept public comments before setting a "reasonable" wholesale rate that investor-owned utilities must pay to ratepayers for their excess electricity.

One would think that SDG&E's new CPUC-approved "smart meters" would immediately credit excess electricity production to the ratepayers who produced it, but apparently not.

Talk to Michael Shames at UCAN for his take on how long CPUC takes to make a decision.

What You Can Do

On a personal note, I am still recommending that individual ratepayers consider setting up small home solar panel kits for removing a few of their smaller household appliances off the grid. This should eliminate any concern regarding SDG&E confiscation without payment of excess ratepayer-generated electricity, at least until CPUC actually sets the ratepayer wholesale rate for excess production. Also, it avoids any concern over getting paid at a lower rate than SDG&E would bill out to energy-conserving consumers. As the number of ratepayers who voluntarily reduce their consumption of SDG&E electricity increases, more of us will have more to spend elsewhere in the economy than on SDG&E for Sempra Energy to maintain its high dividend payout rate at close to 40% of retained earnings to stock speculators, hedge fund operators, and the like.

In addition, I urge all interested California ratepayers to write to CPUC, asking for a quick hearing and setting of the wholesale rate to be paid for confiscated electricity.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Sempra Generation Delivers Solar Electricity to PG&E, Not SDG&E

Next Article

Per Watt Savings from Off-Grid Solar Panels Balance SDG&E Proposed Rate Hikes

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader