“Good night, and good luck.” – Edward R. Murrow
The commercial electric rate schedules in Arizona (and now only in Arizona) have long been structured to defeat the value of solar energy and energy conservation. The rate schedules also provide an enormous subsidy and encourage prodigal consumption by discounting energy to the largest energy consumers.
The pricing system redirects costs from any apparent savings in the residential and industrial sectors into the small commercial sector. This creates a hidden tax through the higher costs of goods and services, and through the subsequently higher sales tax charges.
Furthermore, while more fortunate homeowners can avoid energy costs by investing in subsidized solar energy, renters remain a captive market.
All Arizonans need to be able to gain full value for investments in energy conservation and for solar energy. Until the rate schedules are reformed, energy efficiency measures and solar energy in the nation’s sunniest state will have diminished value.
This diminishment of the value of solar energy affects all present and future Americans by delaying our clean energy future.
As you may surmise, nearly the entire Arizona economic and political system is complicit.
Good night, and good luck.
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Solar is firm power when you consider the time of day use. It makes the most when you need it and use it. At night fossil fuel plants dump mega watts of power since our use is lowest at night yet they can't rsmp down coal or nuclear.
ReplyDeleteWhen you shut down a nuclear plant to refuel evey 2 years it takes weeks and last year took even longer. If there is a problem a nuclear plant shuts down until it can be investigated and retested. How can you call that firm power.