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solar panels - selling excess power


bolverk

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Having lived in Austin since 1996 and always getting power the Austin Energy (public utility), I don't know the first thing about going about choosing an electricity provider in a deregulated market.

Situation:

About this time last year, my dad got solar panels on my parents' house and apparently they had a one-year contract with Green Mountain Energy. Since then, he passed away from Covid. That contract is up, and my mom just called a few minutes ago telling me that Green Mountain was going to dump her, and she has until the 23rd to choose a new provider. They owe her $1000 apparently, which they say they'll pay. I haven't seen any paperwork, but she said she'll get help from a neighbor to scan and email me the documents she has.

She mentioned I should go to powertochoose.org to help her find a new one. The choices shown for her ZIP are TXU (former provider), Reliant (listed thrice), Green Mountain (no go), and Chariot Energy (never heard of them). 

Anyone got any advice on choosing (generally) and which one is best for solar power buy back (specifically)? What happens if this can't get done by the day after tomorrow?

Thanks. I'll hang up and listen.

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12 hours ago, bolverk said:

Having lived in Austin since 1996 and always getting power the Austin Energy (public utility), I don't know the first thing about going about choosing an electricity provider in a deregulated market.

Situation:

About this time last year, my dad got solar panels on my parents' house and apparently they had a one-year contract with Green Mountain Energy. Since then, he passed away from Covid. That contract is up, and my mom just called a few minutes ago telling me that Green Mountain was going to dump her, and she has until the 23rd to choose a new provider. They owe her $1000 apparently, which they say they'll pay. I haven't seen any paperwork, but she said she'll get help from a neighbor to scan and email me the documents she has.

She mentioned I should go to powertochoose.org to help her find a new one. The choices shown for her ZIP are TXU (former provider), Reliant (listed thrice), Green Mountain (no go), and Chariot Energy (never heard of them). 

Anyone got any advice on choosing (generally) and which one is best for solar power buy back (specifically)? What happens if this can't get done by the day after tomorrow?

Thanks. I'll hang up and listen.

Most providers only offer credits that go to usage. Very few will actually pay cash for excess solar production.

Here is a helpful chart that describes many of the buy back plans and their limitations. https://www.texaspowerguide.com/solar-buyback-plans-texas/ 

Why is Green Mountain kicking her out? FYI, Green Mountain is owned by NRG (Reliant). 

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20 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Most providers only offer credits that go to usage. Very few will actually pay cash for excess solar production.

Here is a helpful chart that describes many of the buy back plans and their limitations. https://www.texaspowerguide.com/solar-buyback-plans-texas/ 

Why is Green Mountain kicking her out? FYI, Green Mountain is owned by NRG (Reliant). 

Thanks. I'll check this out when I get a chance and, hopefully, get some numbers from her. She told me Green Mountain is dropping her because she only had a one-year contract with them, and they chose not to renew. At this point, that's the extent of my knowledge until I see some of the paperwork.

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1 hour ago, bolverk said:

Thanks. I'll check this out when I get a chance and, hopefully, get some numbers from her. She told me Green Mountain is dropping her because she only had a one-year contract with them, and they chose not to renew. At this point, that's the extent of my knowledge until I see some of the paperwork.

I assume she could just renew with Green Mountain under a different plan (they've changed their plans recently). You can do it all online. They do still offer net metering plans, they just don't offer cashout and unlimited credits anymore.  

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we have solar panels and net metering with Green Mountain. I was not aware that they don't offer cashouts any more. We signed with green mountain because their credit rate for excess generation was equal to what they charge for consumption.

When we got the panels about two years ago, the company that owns the lines offered a pretty sweet rebate, but only if your total annual generation would not be more than your average consumption. They wanted to see 12 months of bills, plus a contract from the installer that stated the kilowattage of the panels that were installed. So, we only installed pretty much exactly what we needed to break even.

Maybe that is why green mountain is dumping her-- they don't want to be in the energy buying from small timer residential generation business.

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