The article is not total BS. The utility should not have to buy the excess power at the same price it sells to the consumer. The utility is left with the work of balancing the loads and maintaining distribution.
The utilities dont. They pay 10% in California now.
However if you use your own power instead of theirs you save 100%, without having to put in two power meters. Build your solar small and you will not have excess. Size your battery down to supply enough to support small random peaks during the day and you are good go go.
An example was my 600watt panel, 2400 watt line interactive capable of using the line to boost up to 4800 watt on peak usage.
Runs living room and kitchen lights, washer freezer and fridge and small office power and computer.
Inverter is set to recharge the batteries off the power line if they ever reach half capacity.
Doing 3 loads of laundry a day for 5 days the battery never triggered a recharge cycle. But this was in sunny California. YMMV.
The key to making solar work is energy efficiency not energy generation.