{"id":478,"date":"2018-08-02T13:39:50","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T20:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/delsolenergy.com\/?p=478"},"modified":"2023-05-09T08:37:51","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T15:37:51","slug":"true-up-bill-terror-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/delsolenergy.com\/true-up-bill-terror-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"True Up Bill Terror Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once you go solar, billing with your designated utility changes.\u00a0 Most of our customers are also utility customers of PG&E, one of the three major utility companies in California.\u00a0 A good solar installation company will walk you through what to expect with your bills when you go solar and introduce what is known as a True Up bill.\u00a0 However,\u00a0 we recently have been receiving an upswing in complaints regarding True-Up bills from customers that choose to go solar with another local company.\u00a0 This blog will discuss what a True-Up bill is, what surprises might be there and why, and what you can do to remediate any problems.\u00a0 \u00a0We will also touch lightly on how to choose a reputable solar company that will help reduce the chances of any sort of solar True Up Terror story.<\/p>\n

What is a True-Up Bill<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"PGE

A true-up bill is an annual billing statement that you will receive from your utility provider, such as PG&E.\u00a0 Although you will receive a monthly statement from PG&E, there will be an end-of-year statement that is known as a True-up bill<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Your monthly statements will outline total energy production and energy consumption of the household.\u00a0 It will also specify how much energy was purchased from the energy grid and the credits any over-production from your panels awarded your account.\u00a0 The monthly bill will also charge the household for any carrier fees and gas fees that must be paid monthly.<\/p>\n

The True-Up statement will be similar, but a bit more in-depth.\u00a0 The True-Up will have a final, concrete calculation that outlines each month’s total solar production, and how much of that energy was consumed by the household and how much was fed back into the grid.\u00a0 Additionally, the amount of electricity that was purchased from the utility will also be stated, per month – and what the annual total cost of purchased electricity was.\u00a0 \u00a0Also, any annual utility fees and other mandatory fees will be charged out for the annual billing cycle.<\/p>\n

What Surprises Can I Plan For?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are a few surprises we have found customers confronted that were unprepared for.\u00a0 First, a large True-Up bill.\u00a0 What this means, as we think we own the energy we produce, often there is a notable True-Up bill at year end, meaning we used much more electricity than we produced.<\/p>\n

A second surprise that customers find is that the rate they purchase electricity from the utility is much higher than the rate the utility gives them for the electricity they sell back to the utility.\u00a0 In an ideal world, the cost of sale and purchase is 1 to 1.\u00a0 However, in reality, the rate is higher than solar homeowners were expecting.<\/p>\n

Why Do I have a True-Up Balance Due?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Unhappy