How Utility Rate Inflation Impacts Energy Storage Viability

As energy markets constantly change, utility rate inflation remains a significant driver of change, creating challenges and opportunities for consumers and businesses alike. One notable shift is the erosion of value for standalone photovoltaic (PV) systems under the NEM 3.0 framework.

The Impact of NEM 3.0 on Utility Rate Inflation

It’s been almost a year since California’s California’s Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3.0) went into effect, which profoundly impacted utility rate inflation, completely decoupling the value of imported energy from exported energy.

The Future of Utility Rate Escalation in California

Utility rates in California’s Investor-Owned Utilities (IOU) have escalated at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9% to 7.4% over the last ten years. Energy Toolbase recently conducted this study to provide a transparent account of the rate inflation and predict future inflation rates, serving as a guide for how those in solar and storage sales will define utility rate escalation in their proposals.

The Dynamics of Retail Electric Rate Changes in California

Given the volatility of California’s energy market, it is no surprise that several factors are at play that strongly impact the state’s retail electric rates. In this blog, we will examine the main drivers of retail electricity cost inflation and provide a higher-level understanding of historical rate increases and how …

NEM-3 “Net Billing” Tariff Revised Proposed Decision (November 2022) – Summary of key issues, What it means for Solar and Storage Economics, How to Model Projects in Energy Toolbase

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released their much anticipated, revised Proposed Decision (PD) on the state’s “NEM-3” successor net metering tariff last week. The newly revised PD establishes a “Net Billing” tariff that introduces an entirely new framework for valuing exported energy.