A waterfall is a force of nature; the Sun’s power is also a force of nature. Turn off the sun? Maybe, if the sun’s energy is deemed illegal, a utility company could turn it off solar power.

This new trend appearing first in Hawaii, now seems to be a snowballing to the mainland and across the country. Utility companies are placing surcharges and infrastructure penalties on resident solar energy systems, as penalties for solar being too successful – too sunny. Residents are fined if they sell their energy overproduction back to the Utility company, in exchange for electricity during night hours or cloudy days, a practice called “net metering.”

* New development in solar technology - Residential solar can now operate 24-7, all night and on cloudy days.   See headlines below * “Going off the Grid” and “Freedom.”

High points of this article:

• Utility company profit enhancement termed greed by many.
• The “zombie plague.”
• Utility companies do not want customers to have low priced or free electricity.
• Going off the grid.
• Solar electric power 24-7 – no downtimes due to dark skies.
• European countries and Japan sell 208 volt solar panels (but not to the US).

Are Utility Companies Redundant – Many in the public sector are asking if they actually need a utility company. Americans have been sold the goods, but the solar goods are turning out to be better and cheaper than energy produced by traditional power companies. Utility companies hear this, and have started to run for cover.

Some call it just plain “greed” – Utility companies are finding that they may not be as profitable if solar power “turns on the lights.” “It’s a matter of profit – The price of solar panels keeps dropping,” down 60% from 2011 to 2013 alone, according to the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association.  Now, Utility companies are feverishly looking for ways to increase profitability by penalizing solar users, especially with residential customers. The fracus appears to have started in Hawaii.

In Hawaii, power generated from fossil fuels costs 3 times or more than the average compared to the mainland. Energy customers, especially residential users, have been turning to solar for cost relief; but recently they have been too happy, saving too much on their electricity bills – this makes Utility company executives very nervous. These giants like Hawaiian Electric Company (“termed a monolithic utility” by U.S. Solar Market Insight Conference), HECO, and HELCO (depending on the island) have devised new ways to increase profits at the expense of solar customers.

Power “doesn’t escape from your plugs. It isn’t the electric current that’s unreliable; it’s the utility company that’s unreliable.” When following the accustomed procedures used by electricians, utility companies cannot claim there are dangers to solar customers, or installers.

• Customers are told they need to “pay for upgrades to there neighborhood’s electricity circuits to handle the extra load (of solar).” But there isn’t any “overload.”
• In Sept. 2013, in Hawaii, a “regulation” was put through, requiring new solar service to get approval before installing photovoltaic rooftop solar systems (approval from the utility company and solar put on hold). http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/16/us-solar-hawaii-analysis-idUSBRE9BF0I120131216
• Told by the utilities “power circuits have reached a threshold where it would be dangerous…” unless solar customers invest in upgrades to the infrastructure for the company. This is simply not true – there is no danger. It turns out the upgrades go toward profits for the grid, and increased infrastructure costs for Utilities when all those customers want cheap solar.
• “The inconsistent power generated by so many rooftop solar systems threatens the safety and reliability of its small (utility companies are not small), independent power grids, a Hawaiian Electric executive said.”… But There is no physical danger, only the risks of lost profits.
• “The risk is that rapid voltage spikes could damage home appliances or worse – injure crews working on the distribution circuit.” This is simply not true; there is no danger.
• Aljazeera’s article of Jan. 10, 2014, “System Overload Slows Hawaii’s Solar Energy Boom“ You cannot overload the system. “When you have all this power flowing around with nowhere to go … it can cause reliability problems,” says Peter Rosegg, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co.  Aljazeera certainly didn’t check with an electrician. Power isn’t “flowing around.” It doesn’t escape from your plugs. It isn’t the electric current that’s unreliable; it’s the utility company that’s unreliable.

“The Solar Powered Death Spiral for Utilities, Begins in Hawaii” says Michael Sankowski, writing for “Monetary Realism – Economics Without Politics.”  http://monetaryrealism.com/the-solar-powered-death-spiral-for-utilities-begins-in-hawaii/ He adds a little humor to the sludge: This solar powered death spiral for Utilities “is already starting in Hawaii. It’s going to spread across the U.S. faster than a zombie plague – and there is nothing the Utilities can do to stop it.”

Mr. Sankowski tells us, “Utilities rely on large numbers of customers to pay for the gigantic fixed cost infrastructure required to deliver energy to your home.” And, “Solar disrupts this (the Utilities’) business model entirely.”

Using Swanson’s Law, “A relatively small amount of people adopt solar in a specific geographic area. This causes prices for utility delivered power to go up. This makes solar an even more attractive alternative – which pushes prices for installing solar down even more…hello death spiral, hello,” reasonable and honest costs for electric power.

If you want low cost electric power, begin by reading Mr. Sandowski’s article, as he foretells the future.

Going off the grid – The customer purchases the appropriate number of solar panels for the size of the residence and “you go off the grid” – simple. Many solar customers are now acquiring one of the new smaller sized but powerful energy storage batteries. If your solar system is producing all you need, there is no reason to stay on the grid, plus no utility company rate increases (a minimum of 4% a years in most states), ever, and no electric utility monthly bill.

Freedom is what you feel, when making residential solar operate 24-7, and off the grid. *We have run across a solar consultant who can make adjustments to residential solar systems so that they operate 24-7. That means no downtimes for residential solar systems. You have your initial solar system expense, followed by no utility bills. There is no one else doing this – Paul Smith at [email protected], and https://www.facebook.com/paulsmith.americansupersolar  .  Mr. Smith is not selling, nor is he installing solar systems, but he has discovered the answer to a major problem effecting ALL solar electric power system in the United States.

As an example of the extreme possibilities for extreme weather, with this 24-7 system operation – think of Alaska – half and half, full sun in the summer, but winter is dark. No darktime with 24-7 solar applications. Alaska is a freethinking state – thousand of individuals want, and do, go off the grid up there, into the rural wilderness, usually far from Utility companies. Now, they don’t need to batten the shutters in winter and go back to the city. They can enjoy their privacy and natural beauty, in every month of the year, 24-7.

Only in the US – In European countries and in Japan, a solar consumer is able to purchase a solar panel for 208, up to 240 volts capacity. But in the US, the highest capacity panel is 12 volts – yes, not a typo; it’s 12 volts (that is why you need to use Deep Cycle Marine batteries).  A normal US home is wired for 220; why can’t the US offer better than 12 volt panels. Because the consumer is forced to purchase more panels, a lot more.

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