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Hear our interview with Daniel Sullivan, founder of Sullivan Solar, by clicking the audio link
By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Battery storage unit on garage wall
December 18, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Many solar customers are unaware of new time-of-use rates that took effect December 1st. In an interview with ECM on KNSJ Radio, Sullivan Solar founder and president Daniel Sullivan explains that if you bought solar between June 30, 2016 and Dec. 1, 2017, your rates will be going up sharply after a five-year grace period. Rates for use during evening hours are doubling; a typical family will pay 143% more than in the past. If you buy solar in the future, your rates will also be higher, starting immediately.
But there is a solution: buy a back-up battery, which will not only lower your rates, but also provide backup power to keep your electricity on during future power outages. Back-up batteries, with subsidies, can be financed out for only about $20 a month – and you’ll likely save $100 a month on your electricity bill, says Sullivan. Rebates end in June 2018, so there's a strong incentive to get a battery soon before the rebates run out.
Solar doesn't work at night, when the utilities want to charge you more starting in 15 days, so a battery allows you to store your solar power and use it when power is most expensive. You use the battery to buy low and sell high.
The battery makes sense for recent purchasers of solar and new solar customers. (Those who bought before June 30, 2016 are grandfathered in for 20 years, so their rates won't be going up anytime soon.) It also helps you to reduce your fossil fuel usage as well as your power bill.
To hear our interview and get full details, click “read more” and scroll down.
For more information, you can visit www.SullivanSolar.com or for third party neutral information visit the Center for Sustainable Energy, which administers the rebate programs, at https://energycenter.org/.
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