[quote=AN][quote=Clifford]AN,
I’m in Tier 2 most of the year (I rarely go into Tier 3). Financially, would it be worth it to install solar panels ?[/quote]I would say no. It’s only worthwhile if you’re constantly in Tier 4. Solar is getting cheaper and better, so it might be worthwhile to just want, since you’re not paying very much to SDG&E. The general number is, if your electricity bill is >$150/month, that’s when the number really make sense.[/quote]
Also take into consideration the fact that
SDG&E is trying to flatten the tiered pricing structure, going from four tiers back to two, like we had before the “energy crisis” in the early 2000s.
This will change the calculations for many people. With the 4-tier pricing, solar is an absolute no-brainer for people who are consistently in the 3rd and 4th tiers (we were almost always deep into tier 4 in this house). After flattening the tiers, the once higher-paying customers won’t benefit as much as under the 4-tier structure (still a good idea to go solar, though), but it might start to make even more sense for those in the lower tiers to go solar.
They claim that they are doing this to make the pricing “fairer” for the higher-paying customers, but the real reason is because those VERY profitable customers are fleeing to solar in relatively large numbers. They are trying to recoup some of that lost money and slow/stop the bleeding.
