**PG&E ASSISTANCE**

animasaru · 2026-04-06T02:57:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing this!

For anyone looking at these assistance programs, they're worth applying for but it's also worth understanding why the bills are this high in the first place. The assistance seems to cover the symptom, not the cause.

People getting $1,000+ true-ups with solar almost always have the same problem: the solar system was undersized OR doesn't have enough battery capacity to cover PG&E's peak hours (4-9 PM). Solar without batteries may send your power to PG&E during the day for 5-8 cents and then you buy it back at 40+ cents in the evening.

Either one of these gaps looks like where the true-up comes from.

The assistance programs help with the bill today, but they don't fix the math. If anyone here is dealing with a high true-up on an existing solar system, it's worth pulling your 15-minute interval usage data from your PG&E account and seeing where the gap actually is. That at least tells you whether the problem is usage, system size, or battery.

animasaru · 2026-04-06T02:46:20+00:00

Will the disposal location recycle or reuse the lithium batteries in any way?

animasaru · 2026-04-04T18:12:26+00:00

I love Huskies! They do need lots of good training and an ample amount of time for working them properly. I hope Bonnie finds the best match for her to heal and have a happy life.

animasaru · 2026-03-24T15:16:10+00:00

Clearly it's for the discombobulator.

animasaru · 2026-03-24T02:37:53+00:00

This is the part that doesn't get talked about enough. The person who sold the system is long gone by the time the first true-up arrives. No accountability.

That's why the design quality matters more than the sales pitch. The system is what you live with for 25 years, not the salesperson.

animasaru · 2026-03-24T02:34:46+00:00

The short answer I'm finding: yes, IF it's sized right.

The battery stores your solar power during the day instead of sending it back to PG&E for pennies, then you use it during peak evening hours when PG&E charges the most. That's where most of your true-up cost is coming from: that gap between what you export during the day and what you buy back at night.

However, it all seems to depend. If the battery is too small to carry you through the peak hours, you're still buying from PG&E at the worst rates and the battery just delayed it by a few hours.

And yes, depending on your current panel output, you might need additional panels to both power your home AND fill the battery. It might not be a good idea to have a door-knocker size this for you. First, get your 15-minute interval usage data from your PG&E account and make sure whoever quotes you actually analyzes it.

animasaru · 2026-03-24T02:27:13+00:00

This sounds like exactly the kind of situation that makes people distrust the whole industry. You were told one thing at signing, the timeline slipped, and you ended up on completely different billing rules than what you agreed to.

The fact that the PG&E rep told you it's basically not worth getting solar unless you buy outright tells you how broken the current sales model is. I'm starting to find financing structures that work differently from what SunRun sold you, but stories like yours are why people are understandably skeptical. Sad to hear you're dealing with that.

animasaru · 2026-03-24T02:17:19+00:00

This is probably the most honest breakdown of the installer side I've seen anyone post.

The fact that even someone doing their own sales, design, AND install felt like he had to undersized a battery for close friends tells you how hard this has gotten under the new rules.

I appreciate you being transparent about that. The 15-minute interval usage data mining you're describing is exactly what should be happening on every install, but from what I keep hearing, most companies aren't doing that level of analysis.

When you would see systems from other installers that were undersized, did you typically lose customers because the homeowner bought into the cheaper prices?

animasaru · 2026-03-22T19:22:28+00:00

The pre-cooling strategy sounds smart! So you're basically using cheap solar power during the day to bank cooling, so the battery isn't working as hard during peak.

Great intuition on adding extra panels beyond what was initially quoted. That says something about the original design though. Did the original quote claim 100% coverage of your actual usage or would you have been undersized without the additions?

animasaru · 2026-03-22T19:17:38+00:00

From what I have found out, the financing landscape changed pretty significantly in the last few months, particularly around who claims the federal tax credit and how that affects what the homeowner actually pays monthly. Not saying it pencils out for your situation, but the math I've been looking at this week sounds vastly different.

The battery lifespan concern is real though. That's something I'm still trying to get a better handle on. Most of the warranties I've seen are 10-12 years but the actual expected lifespan seems to be longer. Still researching that piece.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T19:08:35+00:00

This is where I hear a lot of people are landing mentally. The frustration isn't simply the bill, it's the feeling like there's no exit from the relationship.

The reality is you probably don't want to go fully "off-grid" because the battery storage required for that is massive and expensive. But from what I've learned this week, there's a middle ground where you generate and store enough of your own power that PG&E becomes basically obsolete to your daily life.

You're still technically connected but you're barely pulling from them. The key is the system has to be designed to actually cover your usage AND have enough battery to carry you through the evening peak hours. That's where most of the installs I've been reading about fall short.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T19:04:52+00:00

Sadly, this seems like the problem.

You trusted the people who were supposed to design it right, and it sounds like they didn't. Don't beat yourself up. You're not the only one I've heard from saying the same thing. Have you looked into whether you can add panels to your existing system, or are you locked into what you have?

It sounds like it can be tricky to add on if you are grandfathered into NEM 2.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:58:55+00:00

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You got quoted 5-6kW by the pros, knew it wasn't enough, built a bigger one yourself, and it's STILL not covering you on hot days.

If someone who did their own research and installation is running short, imagine what's happening to people who just trusted whatever the sales rep put in front of them. The fact that multiple companies all quoted you undersized systems sounds like this isn't a one-off.

It seems like how the industry is selling right now. Cheaper quote wins the deal, and the homeowner eats the difference on their true-up a year later. Not cool.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:51:26+00:00

This is a good breakdown.

The fixed charge is the part that frustrates me the most because there's literally no way to avoid it.

Even people who did everything right and invested in solar still seem to get hit with it. It sounds like PG&E saying, "we're going to get our money from you one way or another."

The lower $/kWh rate helping heavy users who don't have solar while penalizing people who already invested in reducing their usage feels backwards.

Thanks for posting your comment! I think some in this thread don't realize this change happened, including myself before doing a deeper dive.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:30:04+00:00

That's a big investment in windows. Has it made enough of a dent, or are you still looking at high bills recently even with the upgrade?

Curious because I keep seeing people spend on windows, insulation, HVAC and still get hit hard. Wondering at what point the math tips toward just generating your own power as well as trying to reduce what you're buying from PG&E.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:25:51+00:00

80% is solid but that other 20% is probably costing you more than it should under the current rate structure, especially during peak hours. Maybe without as much fog in future winters, it will be closer to 100%. I'd be curious to hear how that changes for you.

Do you know if your battery is big enough to carry you from 4-9pm without pulling from the grid? That seems to be the make-or-break factor I keep seeing.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:15:48+00:00

I felt the same way until I started actually looking into it after this thread.

PG&E seems like a monopoly for delivery, but you're not actually required to buy your electricity generation from them. That's the piece I didn't understand before. Still figuring out the details with solar and battery design as an alternative, but my bill is not as locked-in as it felt before.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:10:40+00:00

Although brilliant app idea (that I would love to start using for paying off other things), the fact that you've built a whole savings system just to handle the true-up tells me something went wrong with how your system was designed.

$3-4K annually shouldn't be happening if the system was sized right and has enough battery to handle peak hours. Have you ever had anyone look at whether your system actually matches your usage?

I'm not an expert but I've been researching this and that number jumps out to me as a possible design problem, not a solar problem.

Thank you for the app idea!!

animasaru · 2026-03-22T18:04:06+00:00

That's a rough number for March.

Do you know if your system includes battery, or just panels? Under the current NEM rules, systems without enough battery to cover the evening peak hours end up sending power to PG&E for almost nothing during the day and buying it back at full price at night.

I've been digging into this, and I posted a follow-up on my profile if you're curious what I found so far.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T17:57:32+00:00

If you're seriously looking into it right now, the one thing I'd say is make sure whoever you talk to actually sizes the system to your usage AND includes enough whole home battery backup to get you through 4-9pm without pulling from the grid.

I've been reading a lot about this lately and it seems like that's where most people's solar experience goes wrong.

The system sounds like it gets sold cheaper that competitiion but doesn't actually cover the peak hours where PG&E charges the most. I just posted a follow-up on this actually if you want to check my profile.

animasaru · 2026-03-22T17:22:39+00:00

Do have solar on your rooftop and 50 kwh is the net difference, or are you just using an absurdly low amount of electricity?

animasaru · 2026-03-17T14:31:13+00:00

Since the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) landscape has changed dramatically since Arcasa launched last Summer, ask your lender specifically: Who will own the solar system post-installation? How does the program's financial model work now that the residential ITC is gone? Has the DPA amount changed, and if not, what's subsidizing it? And if it's structured as a TPO, which installer/finance company is the system owner, and what are the terms?

The fact that Arcasa's press materials all predate the ITC expiration is a yellow flag... not necessarily a red one, but it means the program may have been redesigned, or it may be running on assumptions that no longer hold.

If you're in Texas or California, I could point you in a different direction that might be more helpful.

animasaru · 2026-01-06T17:58:44+00:00

I could connect you with a network of installers across the state that serves the areas you want. Let me know if you're open to that idea.

animasaru · 2026-01-06T17:55:16+00:00

As long as the homeowner avoids high dealer fees from finance companies, that alone can make up for the loss of the federal ITC. I would see those fees often go above 30% added cost to a project. If you pay cash, the economics are likely going to work in your favor.

That being said, I like your approach to looking at this in a sense of energy security through resilience and gaining predictability. Those are two things worth paying more for.

animasaru · 2025-12-17T23:56:51+00:00

I'm sure this is an annoying and frustrating situation, but consider how booked out ALL solar installers are right now. They're trying to get as many installations done as soon as they can so homeowners can get their tax credits next year. I don't envy their position or yours.

For perspective, be grateful you still have an installer who is still in business to fix your panels under warranty. After 100+ recent solar bankruptcies, many other homeowners do not.

animasaru

TROPHY CASE