Major changes coming to Calif. electricity rates
By Sammy Roth, Desert Sun
How much you pay for electricity could soon depend on when you use it — and Coachella Valley residents could see their summer bills go up substantially.
California electric prices may fluctuate based on peak use. Photo/Peter Craine
The California Public Utilities Commission could soon ask Southern California Edison and other utility companies to start designing “time-of-use” residential electricity rates, to take effect in 2019. The rates would make electricity more expensive when demand is high, and less expensive when demand is low.
Some ratepayer advocates and environmental groups support time-varying rates, which they say would help reduce dependence on climate-altering fossil fuels. But at least one consumer watchdog group is worried the rates would have unintended consequences. For instance, the new rates could make electricity much more expensive during the summer, hitting desert residents hard during the many months of air conditioning season.
Rich people can afford it, poor people have utility bill assistance from the government (taxpayers). Killing the middle class in California. Some more.
This demand type billing system has been in effect for large business and industrial users in many places for many years.
I have managed several installations where demand charges were minimized by simple timing techniques on when machines are started, and in 24 hour operations it is sometimes possible
It is possible to lower energy costs by use of these techniques, but few non commercial customers are willing to do it. Even timing your refrigerator saves a ton of money.
It boggles my mind why someone would move to a hot desert climate and insist on keeping their house at
65 or 70 degrees in the hot days. 80 in the shade feels cool to the human body.