PSA - PG&E Slime ball move

[daveo4EV]

team,

just might want to check into you current PG&E rate plan and determine what you want do to going forward - PG&E is "automatically" opt-ing you in to TOU billing if you do nothing.

please review the facts and make the best decision for your personal situation and usage - I'm not saying this is good, I'm not saying this is bad - I'm simply noting it is happening to you - so best to get in front of it and make an informed decision.

the "learn more" link takes you here…

what is the right decision @daveo4EV?
I honestly have no idea - if you need guidance in this space I'm not the one to provide it - I'm still scratching my head for my personal situation.

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[Miwa]

I immediately went to their site and opted out of them trying to switch me when I got the mail they sent out a few weeks ago. I was scared we were going to be forced to take a TOU plan.

I think that some folks are going to be in for a surprise.

At least you can switch it back if they switch you.

 

[chrisk]

I got that letter too. To be honest, I am not sure if this will be a positive or negative change for me since I have solar and I usually have an excess power production during the peak times.

 

[Mike in CA]

I presently have the EV-A rate plan which is no longer accepting new subscribers (according to PG&E) and do not want to change plans. This heads up prompted me to access my account and decline the automatic rate change. Thanks for posting this info.

 

[daveo4EV]

EV-A is a deal that one should stay on for as long as possible.

 

[Torv]

PG&E (or as I used to refer to them during my college days--Polluters, Gougers & Extortionists) is simply the worst. It's all about profits and shareholder value, customers and maintenance be damned. I'm not the least bit surprised by this, or the PUC's supposed regulation of PG&E’s disingenuous rationalizations. Thanks for the heads up, Dave.

 

[NC_Taycan]

FWIW I have been on a TOU rate plan since first getting the Model S in 2012. Our electricity bill went DOWN with the TOU plan despite adding charging the Tesla. Consider your highest power appliances - EV, electric clothes dryer, electric ovens, electric heat or heat pump or AC, hot tub, etc. Which of them can you avoid using (to some extent) during peak hours? If you can come up with a few (e.g. can you dry clothes on the weekends or in the morning?) you might be better off with a TOU rate plan. Charge your EV at night. Get programmable thermostats and heat or cool the house an hour before the higher rate kicks in. Set the temperature higher / lower during peak hours. Simple things can add up.

 

[andrewket]

I started on a “whole house” TOU plan in 2013. Similar to others here, I shifted loads to off peak as best I could. I then added solar, but my utility wouldn’t let me combine net metering and TOU. I believe PG&E does, or at least did. That’s the best of both worlds. Sell high, buy low.

I switched to a two meter setup. One meter has the house on a flat rate plan, and the second meter on a TOU plan feeds the garage and is only used for the EVs. This has worked out well. The only downside is the off-peak period is only 1-5am, so I have a small window in which to charge. 72-80A charging helps. If I come back home with a very low SOC I have to reduce the charge limit so I don’t go beyond 5am, or be willing to pay the on-peak rate which is roughly 3x the standard rate.

If you have more than one EV and your utility has a two meter offering it might be worth looking into.

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