How to Save 50% on your Electricity Bill in Southern California with Smart Solar Panels- Sable-Solar In February 2021, winter storms caused electricity blackouts across the state of Texas. The state's power grid was woefully unprepared for three such severe storms leaving millions of homes and businesses without power in the cold weather. Over two hundred people (with some estimates over seven hundred) died as a result of the lack of preparedness.
The Texas Power Crisis as well as other incidents and grim projections across the United States have caused the general public to lose confidence in the public power services. Consumers are also growing frustrated with continually increasing rates even as service seems to become more and more unreliable. They are learning that they do have other options available to them, and many are considering making the move to solar power. How Solar Power Decreases Your Utility Bill Under Time of Use Rates Until a few years ago, most utility companies used tiered pricing. This means that they charged a set rate per kilowatt-hour for electricity consumption. A baseline amount and charge are set, and the consumer is charged per kilowatt-hour exceeding the baseline. As a reference, the lowest cost in California is $0.23 per kilowatt-hour. Now, many utility providers across the country are introducing new rate structures known as time-of-use rates. Instead of tiered pricing, companies charge a varying per kilowatt-hour rate based on when generating energy is cheaper. In many cases, this means that consumers pay higher rates at "peak hours" such as 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. These are the hours when people are home from work and using lights and appliances. The increased usage causes the cost of generating electricity to increase. Under time-of-use rating systems, this will also cause the consumer's price to increase.