Understanding Your Energy Bills

November 20, 2018

Understanding Your Energy Bills

Solar Billing: NEM and Billing Statements

What is NEM?

The NEM (Net Energy Metering) is playing an important role in the continuous and fast growth of solar system installations specially in Fresno. The owners of residential and commercial solar power systems in the Central Valley can now easily monitor the energy production of these renewable energy systems.

The best part is that the customers of solar in California do not pay a single penny throughout the year except for the total energy pulled from the electric grid. The PG&E is responsible for offering them a credit if their solar generator can’t fulfil their energy consumption needs. The information about total power usage is sent to these customers on the monthly and annually basis.

Moreover, the cost of electricity has increased by 25% over the past few years and it takes a pain on the electricity billing expenses of many homeowners in Central Valley. Your billing can be a headache every month but you can find that on solar billing you pay only what you use.

Usually, solar customers connect to a grid to ensure that there home is power the whole month, 24 hours a day. But no worries, as solar bills are much more less than your ordinary electricity bills.

Solar experts Valley Solar Pros have proved with proper solar installation your billing can save you a lot of money on the whole year.

Understanding How It Works

The electric meters are designed in a way where they can easily measure the electricity you’re pulling from the electric grid. Similarly, they are capable of measuring the energy that your solar system is producing. In simple words, we can say that your electric meter is bidirectional. For more information about the common solar vocabulary words we use, you can check the guides at the bottom of this page.

So, the PG&E will charge you for using the electricity from the grid and they will also add a credit to your account if you haven’t used additional energy from the grid. They make the final decision by measuring your “net” energy difference.

As we’ve explained before, that a monthly and annual statement would be sent to you. If you’re living anywhere between downtown Fresno and Warnors Theatre, you must take advantage of this amazing solar system. However, before you install the solar panels in your Fresno home or office you must check this guide that includes the things you must check before solar installation and you must learn how to read your monthly and annual bill.

Thus, you’d stay safe from unexpected charges that usually appear in the bill. The irregularities can easily be identified if you regularly keep an eye on your solar system. It allows you to avoid costly repairs or expenses.

Your Billing Statements

When you take a look at your energy bill, you can find a section named “Account Summary”. This is the section that displays the snapshot of your bill. The total energy charges are mentioned in this section. The total NEM charges are displayed in the section named NEM Account Summary.

This section is displayed right below the Account Summary section. The NEM billing allows you to pay a partial amount of money or the entire bill right away. You won’t be responsible for paying any additional charges unless you received your annual “True Up” bill.

The best advantage of being a solar owner is that you are free from paying energy bills on a monthly basis. However, you must regularly keep an eye on the efficiency of your renewable energy system. The users in California usually use more power than normal when going solar believing that it will help them overcompensate for their new system.

Every month you can take a look at this account information.
It means that you can easily figure out your annual charges by taking a look at these expenses. The negative balance indicates that you can use this month’s credit to apply to next month. You must keep in mind that the “non-energy” charges cannot be paid with the net energy credits other than your NEM billing agreement.

Understanding Your Annual Solar Billing

The annual bill is prepared in a smooth and simple way so that everyone can understand it. The sum of all the monthly credits and charges is displayed in the annual bill. The total amount due over the last 12 months is displayed in the bill.

If the calculation states that you owe money, you’d have to pay those charges before the due date. However, you’re not eligible to use the awarded credit in the next month because it’s not a part of that relevant period of 12 months.

However, the PG&E Net Surplus Compensation program provides you with the compensation for the energy you’ve produced. But you must keep in mind that the compensation is only for the customers that are a member of PG&E. California State Assembly Bill 920 clearly states that the NEM customers, that are producing more energy than their requirements can receive payments from PG&E.

Check Your Usage

There are many reasons that make it important for you to take a look at your usage when the date of your True-Up approaches. First of all, it allows you to stay prepared for the payments that you may owe. Moreover, it allows you to accommodate your outgoing balance by carefully adjusting your power usage.

If you’ve decided to redeem your credit during this time, the PG&E will award you .03-.05 cents per kW/h. Valley Solar Pros highly recommends it’s solar customers in Fresno to adjust their balance to zero by living more comfortably in the last month or two of their billing cycle.

Satisfied Solar Customers in the Central Valley

At Valley Solar Pros, we always try to make sure that our customers may stay satisfied with their year-end balance.

The information we have shared in this article is really helpful if you want to win the credit by the time your TrueUp bill comes around. If you find this information helpful, you must share your experience in the comment section. However, if you’re still unable to get any credits, you must get in touch with our experts at Valley Solar Pros.

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