A confused homeowner whose electricity payments hadn’t dropped as much as expected after they installed solar panels was shocked to discover a massive negative balance on their energy bill.
They turned to Reddit to ask whether they were right in assuming that their power company had essentially refunded the built-up value of their solar contribution all at once.
“I just installed solar last September and have noticed my PGE bill hasn’t adjusted much due to the electricity I have been generating,” the homeowner posted to r/solar. “However, logging into PGE today I see a negative balance. Did they finally catch up and this is the payback I get?”
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Along with their post, the OP shared an image showing a negative balance of nearly $1,400. PG&E, or Pacific Gas and Electric Co., is the electricity and natural gas provider for large parts of Northern and Central California.
The homeowner’s situation illustrated that, while installing solar panels can drop your energy bill to nearly (or even below) zero, understanding how it works in your area can sometimes get complicated.
EnergySage offers free tools to help simplify the process, from comparing quotes among vetted local installers to taking maximum advantage of incentives and rebates.
Watch now: How bad is a gas stove for your home’s indoor air quality?
In the comments, Redditors agreed that the OP had received their entire solar payout in one lump sum.
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“New solar installs in PGE areas are on TOU plans with yearly true-up,” one person explained. “The balance on your bill looks like they finally caught up on your billing and you’d been overpaying. Since you’ve got such a big balance, I’d call them and ask for them to refund your money.”
Whatever the reason, the OP was pleased with the outcome.
“Regardless, it was a nice surprise this morning!” they said.
With electricity production accounting for one-third of all planet-heating pollution generated in the United States, installing solar panels is a great way to help your wallet and the environment. Plus, installing solar panels in conjunction with a home battery system can make your home more resilient in the event of a power outage.
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EnergySage offers a free, easy-to-use mapping tool that makes it simple to see what the average solar installation costs in your state and what incentives are available in your area.
The 30% federal tax credit on residential solar installations ends Dec. 31, so if you’ve been thinking about installing solar panels, the time to act is now.
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