The Tyranny of Average Cost - part the eighteenth

Yet another chapter in the saga of the tyranny of average cost. Rooftop solar has been in the news a bit, but this report brings home the problem in stark terms. Tellingly, the energy utilities never admit what's really going on: they've got millions, or even billions, in capital to depreciate and the only way to do that profitably is to soak as many energy consumers as exist.

The California Public Utilities Commission plans to vote in the next few weeks to reduce the growth of solar energy in the state, which has added more of it than any other. The commission has proposed slashing the incentives homeowners receive to install rooftop solar systems. Officials argue that the changes would help reduce utility bills for lower-income residents about $10 a month by forcing rooftop solar users to pay higher fees to support the electric grid.
[my emphasis]

Which just another way of saying: 'we poor power plant operators can't make lots o moolah if we don't pump out electrons 24/7/365'. All of those infrastructure (aka, capital) costs have to be paid if we hope to make a profit.

"You can understand why utilities don't like distributive resources," said David Feldman, a senior energy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, using an industry term for small energy systems. "The more electricity they sell, the more money they make."

Got to cover those average costs, and the more electrons you shift, the lower the average cost of each electron. Simple arithmetic.

Mr. Feldman of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a division of the U.S. Energy Department, said the campaign to limit rooftop solar often ignores its benefits. Rooftop panels reduce the amount of power the grid needs to deliver, making the system more efficient.
[my emphasis]

Just precisely what a monopolist doesn't want to see. Their P&L is based on soaking everybody to the maximum extent.

What's somewhat odd, is that in Bermuda every building must have a water collecting roof and cistern underneath. Bermudians accept that their rooftops are vital to their survival. Red blooded MAGA Americans aren't so enlightened.

Fortunately, Bermuda's climate favors rainwater harvesting. The islands receive an annual average of 55 inches of rainfall that is spread evenly throughout the year. This allows underground cisterns that each house is equipped with—by law—to be topped up regularly. The law requires that every house must collect 80 percent of the water that falls on its roof. To achieve this, each square foot of roof space must be matched with eight gallons or thirty liters of tank space. Thanks to these building regulations, every home is self sufficient.

On the way to and from the Island on that cruise many years ago, the boat runs past an abandoned (at least, then) resort that's on a small rise from the bay. From water's edge to the main building, a matter of dozens of yards, is just such a 'rooftop' water collection. It's not just for homes.