We’re Angry About Solar: When PG&E Gets Its Cut

We’re angry with our PG&E solar bill. And, honestly, I think we have good reason to be.

On September 6, 2023, we officially turned on our solar panels after Sunrun completed the installation. The process started a few years earlier when I met a drinking buddy in Oakley, California. We’d shared beers at Hop Asylum, and during one of those conversations, I mentioned that I was interested in putting solar on our house in Paso Robles.

Sonny was awesome. He spent a lot of time with me talking about the project, drinking a few beers and discussing what Anna and I needed from a solar system. Once things got serious, we continued communicating by phone, and Sonny patiently answered Anna’s questions before we finally signed the paperwork.

The result was a 10-panel, 3.9-kW system.

And, so far, we love it.

Our Solar Panels Keep Producing

Since we flipped the switch, our system has produced 20,083 kWh of electricity. We’re currently on pace to exceed the 6,956 kWh we produced last year, continuing a trend where our annual production has increased every year since the system went online.

That’s a pretty damn good feeling.

Until PG&E gets involved.

I understand how the solar game works. We generate electricity, but PG&E still owns and operates the grid infrastructure that connects us to the outside world. When our panels aren’t producing enough electricity—because it’s nighttime, we’re having a cloudy day, or our household demand exceeds production—we draw power from the grid.

That’s the trade-off.

And that’s where my frustration begins.

Our $89.40 PG&E Solar Bill

Our most recent billing cycle resulted in an $89.40 bill from PG&E.

The billing period ran from July 8 through August 6, and according to the bill, we imported 244.75 kWh from the PG&E grid.

I understand that we can’t live completely off our solar panels. I also understand there are costs associated with maintaining our connection to the electrical grid.

What pisses me off is looking at how little we’re credited for the electricity we’re sending back.

Central Coast Community Energy, or 3CE, supplies our electricity generation while PG&E provides the transmission and distribution infrastructure. Our bill also includes adjustments such as the annual True-Up and the California Climate Credit.

And when you look at the numbers, the economics get interesting.

During this period, our system exported 2,916 kWh to the grid while we imported 2,201 kWh.

We’re producing plenty of electricity.

But producing electricity and getting fairly compensated for it are two very different things.

What Our Solar Exports Are Actually Worth

Here’s where the numbers really start to piss me off.

PG&E Energy Export Credits

We earned $4.32 in standard delivery credits from PG&E. That’s roughly 4.2 cents per kWh.

Energy Export Bonus Credit

Because we enrolled in the program in 2023, we qualify for a nine-year locked-in bonus incentive of 2.2 cents per kWh. For this billing period, that amounted to another $2.26.

3CE Electric Generation Credit

3CE credited us $8.15 for the generation value of the electricity we exported. That’s approximately 7.9 cents per kWh.

Our Total Summer Export Value

Put those credits together and our exported solar electricity was worth roughly 14.3 cents per kWh during this billing period.

Fourteen cents isn’t nothing.

But considering what electricity can cost when we’re buying it from the grid, the difference is pretty damn noticeable.

The True-Up Is Where It Gets Really Crazy

At the end of our 12-month billing cycle, PG&E calculates our True-Up.

Over the previous year, we exported more electricity than we imported, leaving us with a net surplus of 715.71 kWh.

You’d think having a surplus of electricity would be a good thing.

It is—until you see what that surplus is worth.

Our final net surplus compensation rate was $0.01407 per kWh.

That’s about 1.4 cents per kWh.

So electricity we generated with our own solar panels, sent back onto the grid and ultimately couldn’t use ourselves was essentially cashed out at wholesale value.

That’s the part of the solar equation that isn’t always obvious when you’re considering installing panels.

Why Battery Storage Matters

This is why you’ll often hear that homeowners should use as much of their solar-generated electricity as possible rather than simply exporting excess production.

If you can generate electricity during the day, store it in a battery and use that electricity later, you’re getting much more value from the energy you produced.

The problem is that we don’t have complete control over when our battery discharges.

Our Sunrun system uses automated controls, and there are restrictions around how the battery operates and when stored electricity can be discharged to the home or the grid.

That can be incredibly frustrating.

We’re sitting here generating electricity during the day, watching our system send excess power back to the grid, while later in the day we can find ourselves buying electricity when rates are higher.

And those higher-rate periods are exactly when I’d rather be using the energy we generated ourselves.

So, Are We Happy With Solar?

Here’s the funny thing.

Yes. Absolutely.

Despite everything I’ve just complained about, I would still say installing solar was one of the better decisions we’ve made for the house.

Paso Robles gets hot. Really hot.

When temperatures start climbing into the triple digits and the air conditioner is working overtime, it’s a huge relief knowing our electric bill isn’t going to suddenly be $500 or $600 for the month.

That’s a big deal.

Our solar system has generated more electricity every year since we turned it on, and it has significantly changed how much electricity we have to purchase from the grid.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like the way the system works.

I don’t like exporting electricity for pennies per kilowatt-hour and then potentially buying electricity back at a much higher rate.

I don’t like having limited control over when our battery discharges.

And I definitely don’t like watching electricity we generated ourselves become worth dramatically less once it leaves our property.

Solar Is Still Worth It—But Know the Game

Would I install solar again?

Yes.

Would I recommend it?

Yes—but understand the rules before you sign the paperwork.

Solar isn’t simply about putting panels on your roof and watching your electric meter go backward. There are utility rates, export credits, generation charges, True-Up calculations, battery settings and grid connection fees that all become part of the PG&E solar bill equation.

We knew some of that going in.

We’re just learning more about it every year.

And while I’m grateful that our solar panels are keeping our Paso Robles house from becoming a financial disaster every time the temperature hits 100 degrees, I’m still going to complain when I look at the bill.

Because when I see that we exported thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity and then see what we’re paid for the excess, I can’t help but think:

We’re generating the power. We’re sending it to the grid. And somehow, PG&E still gets the better end of the deal.

I’m not sure we’ll ever completely “pay off” the solar investment in the way people like to calculate these things.

But once the system has paid for itself, it should become an even better deal.

Of course, PG&E will still get its cut.

And I’ll still be pissed about it.