Thank you for the detailed explanation. Short of the utilities wanting cheap power, is there any reason that they shouldn’t be paying for electricity at the same rate as they charge for it? Or, is that 25% rate the wholesale rate they pay for electricity?
As was mentioned above, the net metering tariffs paid the guy with the solar panels the same rate per kWH as he purchased it at. The thing is though that the rate from the utility is the all in cost of purchased power, transmission and the operation and maintenance of the local distribution system. Of that total maybe 30-40% was the actual power supply. A customer with a solar array large enough to have a zero bill from the utility is paying nothing towards maintenance of the local distribution system and therefore gets a free backup power supply when the sun goes down. The poor schmuck who can’t afford a solar array winds up subsidizing the rich guy with the solar array.
It was about time someone put an end to this horse crap.
They don’t buy or generate their electricity they sell to you at retail rates so why should they pay you anything other than a wholesale rate?