On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted on and passed the Net Billing tariff (NBT, also commonly referred to as NEM 3.0). NEM 2.0 is scheduled to sunset 120 days from the final vote — so plan for April 13, 2023 to be the last day to submit an interconnection application to enroll into NEM 2.0.
Very little changed between the NEM Proposed Decision published last month (which we analyzed here) and the final version that passed. It still maintains a reduction of 55%-80% on the credits customers receive for the extra solar energy they produce and send to the grid. It also still includes a $14-$16 monthly charge from the mandatory switch to a time-of-use rate for solar customers, uses the Avoided Cost Calculator (ACC) to determine and calculate 576 different NEM credit values in a year, and makes no retroactive changes for NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0 customers.
” It also still includes a $14-$16 monthly charge from the mandatory switch to a time-of-use rate for solar customers, uses the Avoided Cost Calculator (ACC) to determine and calculate 576 different NEM credit values in a year, and makes no retroactive changes for NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0 customers.”
Right there the so called ACC used to calculate 576 different NEM credit values in a year. This is getting so complicated, who has the chops to monitor and assure the “correctness” of the program throughout the year. The CPUC, the CEC, CAISO? Yeah, right.
Use the programs while they are in force as a kind of energy savings account. Get as much smart ESS with expandable energy storage battery modules to add like a savings account for the energy you use each day. Install solar PV to help in the daily energy needs by storing and time shifting the energy to the TOU rate spiking periods of the day. Sometimes it is good to be agnostic and it is particularly good when you don’t need the rote IOU electric utility for every kWh you use in a 24 hour period. California CPUC says NEM 3.0, residents answer to this is installing enough smart ESS capacity to become grid agnostic to allow control over their own energy needs, generation and costs no matter what the electric utilities do.