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Falling panel prices lead to global solar boom, except for the US

(arstechnica.com)
249 points Jtsummers | 7 comments | 30 Oct 25 16:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.24s | source | bottom
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reenorap ◴[30 Oct 25 17:44 UTC] No.45762822[source]▶
PG&E's most transparent fraud is by forcing people to move everything to electricity and then forcing them to use less electricity, and then complaining they aren't making enough money so that they raise electricity rates. Last year, PG&E raised rates 6 times. I'm now paying double the per kWh rates from only 4 years ago.

PG&E now wants to charge solar panel owners $100+/month just for the privilege of being connected to the grid. This is on top of their $0.41-54/kWh they already charge, the highest in the nation.

PG&E is a government-supported scam that is charging people whatever prices they want with no protection from our politicians because they are all on the take.

replies(5): >>45762865 #>>45762866 #>>45762871 #>>45762903 #>>45763307 #
rconti ◴[30 Oct 25 17:48 UTC] No.45762865[source]▶
I would expand our solar installation as we expand our house over the next few months, but PG&E would force us into a less advantageous electricity scheme if we add panels, so shrug
replies(1): >>45762885 #
jeffbee ◴[30 Oct 25 17:49 UTC] No.45762885[source]▶
NEM eligibility is controlled by CPUC, not PG&E
replies(1): >>45762981 #
reenorap ◴[30 Oct 25 17:57 UTC] No.45762981[source]▶
The CPUC is fighting on behalf of PG&E. It is headed by Newsom's buddy and they have let PG&E raise prices without pushback.
replies(1): >>45763104 #
jeffbee ◴[30 Oct 25 18:07 UTC] No.45763104[source]▶
Newsom is the governor of California and has been for quite a while. The President of CPUC was the long-time climate advisor to Jerry Brown and Deputy Attorney General under Schwarzenegger. The constitution guarantees PG&E rates that offer a return on investment. It's silly to try to make it a personalist conspiracy.
replies(1): >>45763445 #
1. reenorap ◴[30 Oct 25 18:29 UTC] No.45763445[source]▶
https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/about-cpuc/commissioners/page-conten...

I'm not engage in a "conspiracy". She was appointed by Newsom in 2021. This coincides to when the prices started skyrocketing.

replies(1): >>45764049 #
2. linkregister ◴[30 Oct 25 19:13 UTC] No.45764049[source]▶
Then she is part of the conspiracy to lower rates in 2026. How deep does the rabbit hole go?
replies(1): >>45764138 #
3. reenorap ◴[30 Oct 25 19:21 UTC] No.45764138[source]▶
If the electricity bills ever drop I will eat my hat. Even if they drop the rates, they will increase the connection fees to make up for it.
replies(1): >>45765536 #
4. jeffbee ◴[30 Oct 25 21:22 UTC] No.45765536{3}[source]▶
Get out your fork and knife I guess because the PG&E bill of the median residential account is down 10% in the last year.
replies(2): >>45766227 #>>45768546 #
5. teachrdan ◴[30 Oct 25 22:39 UTC] No.45766227{4}[source]▶
Some light googling shows "The average combined [gas + electric] bill has increased from approximately $179 in 2020 to around $300 by October 2025". I'm not sure what cherry-picking of data PG&E is doing, but it does not seem that there's a real life 10% decrease in bills being paid by California consumers.
replies(1): >>45767822 #
6. rconti ◴[31 Oct 25 02:52 UTC] No.45767822{5}[source]▶
they mailed me a thing a few months ago saying "we're lowering rates!" and then another thing more recently saying "See, we're lowering rates and plan to lower them again soon!"

I haven't actually looked at the real bills to see if it's happening, but the expectation they're setting up is that 2026 will be lower than 2025. we'll see!

7. rahimnathwani ◴[31 Oct 25 04:50 UTC] No.45768546{4}[source]▶
Where did you read this?