Quote:
Originally Posted by DoubleK
Under a pure net metering scheme they do avoid those charges as they only pay the difference. Transmission and Distribution charges are based on consumption.
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I see, you were referring to the concept in general and I was referring to how it works in Alberta. In most provinces, the pure net metering you refer to has never really been something that has been put into practice and most handle it where what you pull off the grid, you are paying the same fees for. The pure net metering concept is something that if it was introduced in a jurisdiction has been adjusted in most cases. Here is a great article about how the net-metering concept has been adjusting and changing:
https://aurorasolar.com/blog/how-net...-need-to-know/
Provinces like Ontario tried to spur on Solar by offering a tariff based system where you would sell back at much higher levels compared to what you purchase at (at one point Solar energy was being purchased back at 85c per kWh, multiple times higher than what the electricity was being purchased at). This was an ill advised scheme as it made the cost of electricity for non-solar homeowners escalate. There were even rural individuals who would install arc lighting systems above their solar panels since the cost they were purchasing the electricity at to run those lights at was less than what they were able to produce from the panels, even at nightime from the arc lighting... crazy. That tariff system quickly changed and is why you see Solar production taxed in certain areas where Solar caught flack for the rest of the population.
Alberta's approach to Solar policy is a fair market approach, you always purchase and sell at the same fixed price, and the 100% offset limit allows as many homes tied to those neighbourhood transformers to go Solar without one home building some massive system over producing and thus not allowing other homes on those transformers to go Solar (this has happened in California, where many areas you can no longer go Solar without investing in battery systems). Additionally, having fixed fees for delivery, along with variable fees for delivery based on how much is pulled off the grid, is the correct approach to Solar policy in my opinion. The growth of Solar in Alberta has been the highest in the country for many years and I don't see any reason our approach to net metering would end any time soon. Like any new technology, it's usually the early adopters that get the most benefit and I think the policies will change but not until we see 1/4 of our homes with Solar which is likely 20+ years away.