[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, I believe the utilities are trying to stem the defection to rooftop solar by higher energy users. So they will charge lower users like you to subsidize the high users (that is to make it less economically self evident to install solar)

I think that states may have to regulate utilities and make them non-profit if the big picture goal is to reduce carbon emissions.

There’s a lot of polemic in Neveda where NV Energy (owned by Belkshire Hathaway) is doing the same thing.

Tech improvements such as the Tesla Powerball might cause more people to go off grid. Good time to invest in battery makers?[/quote]

Well my highest bill (dead of winter) with my kid here PT was <$89. So I ALWAYS conserved energy, even when I was a 1.5 person household. Seriously, how much energy should each person in a household need to use per month ($40 each ... $50 each?). I realize this equation changes if the household has a pool or AC but that household CHOSE to buy/rent a house in an area where AC was needed and/or one with a pool or CHOSE to install a pool themselves. I have owned home(s) with backyard in pool(s) in the past (none which needed A/C, though) but this is no longer my problem, nor should it be. Moving off the grid actually sounds really great to me, FIH. I'm just wondering about the existence (or more likely, non-existence) of high speed internet in those areas. And experience has taught me that many of those fabulous hideaway homes situated in the bucolic woods "off the grid" need extensive septic/leachfield remediation prior to move-in at a cost of $3800 or more. Assuming the seller refuses to pay for this in escrow, that's enough for me to pay for city sewer for about 9.5 years! It's not always cheaper to be "off the grid" unless one is satisfied to live a very primitive lifestyle.