Solar is still expensive here in CA and Pacific Gas and Electric is trying to get those who have it to pay more. Actually, all of us are getting hit with exorbitant costs for running anything electric or gas. Our average monthly bill is $400 now. I am looking to buy an EV, hopefully this year, if it’s not cost prohibitive. The price of one is what I paid for my house in 1976. Ugh!
Solar is still expensive here in CA and Pacific Gas and Electric is trying to get those who have it to pay more. Actually, all of us are getting hit with exorbitant costs for running anything electric or gas. Our average monthly bill is $400 now. I am looking to buy an EV, hopefully this year, if it’s not cost prohibitive. The price of one is what I paid for my house in 1976. Ugh!
In Northern California: My friends who already have a Prius just bought a Tesla. I think about $35-$40,000. They had electricity rewired in their garage for charging. $10,000. Charging stations are everywhere, even in our rural town. The prices for these cars today are like home mortgages years ago. How do young families afford homes and cars that are energy efficient?
I agree! Here in the Bay Area, those are the families whose salaries are generated by Silicon Valley’s tech companies. They buy $1mil+ “Smart” homes, send their kids to private schools, and buy Teslas. I for one, will not be buying a Tesla. They are brilliantly made but knowing that Musk reaps tons of money just makes my skin crawl.
Simple answer there Irenie..They need to 'haul stuff' so a pu truck or a used SUV fills the bill.., until they find a decent place to live and generate a couple children.
Right. Everyone doesn’t have a hybrid or even a home. But the idea of affordable transportation, is more universal. Move from fossil fuels to alternative energy for our planet’s health. That has been a possibility for decades. And is political.
SDG&E is doing the same regarding solar, talk about $20/mo for residential users. On May 1, San Diego city will join other cities in SD County in a Community Choice Aggregation not-for-profit. The rate paid will be only pennies less per kWh but will disconnect from investor-owned SDG&E while supporting the evolution of the clean energy sector. San Diego Community Power is describe on its website:
"San Diego Community Power (SDCP) is a local provider of electricity that will serve our communities by bringing you cleaner energy at competitive rates. We will provide renewable electricity service to over 960,000 customer accounts in the cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and San Diego starting in 2022, with the unincorporated communities of the County of San Diego and the City of National City served in 2023.
We provide you with reliable, affordable electricity from renewable sources. We are focused on what families need and want most when it comes to their energy."
Wish that was our county’s goal! We have quite a few affluent cities up here in the Bay Area where there is solar. PG&E has never been honest with their customers. Their rates have been predicated based on the lives they’ve killed such as dated equipment, explosions, fires due to faulty or neglected power lines. Not one person on mu street has solar. We are an old neighborhood with old charming homes lined with big trees. We do not have underground wiring who h is required with new builds. Many of our homes are heated with gas and we cook with it also.
Everyone I have talked to and they’re plenty of them, have told me not to lease but to purchase outright. I simply can’t do it this year because I need to trade in my gas guzzler (although I love it) for either a hybrid or an EV. Plus, being that we have lived in our almost 100 year old house for nearly 47 years, we now must redo our foundation. No easy fixes are what face us oldsters now.
I bought our 2013 Nissan Leaf in 2016 at the end of someone's three-year lease. It was a remarkably good deal. I found it at a very small dealer that deals exclusively in used EVs. And I hear you about old houses. Ours turns 100 this year. We've been in it 20 years. Many challenges along the way, though not something like replacing a foundation. Good luck.
The upcoming generations are being priced out of home purchases in California especially San Francisco and Bay areas. Palo Alto fixer-uppers are often $2-$3 million and may be remodeled or torn down. And then there’s a car to buy or support.
Might be worth recalculating. We have net metering in California, which is the essential factor. PG&E charges $10 a month for grid services, which is fair. Might go to $20 or more for grid connection to help pay for grid upgrades, such as buried lines, also fair. I get 90% of the electricity I use from seventeen 3’x6’ panels on my small, townhouse roof.
Solar is still expensive here in CA and Pacific Gas and Electric is trying to get those who have it to pay more. Actually, all of us are getting hit with exorbitant costs for running anything electric or gas. Our average monthly bill is $400 now. I am looking to buy an EV, hopefully this year, if it’s not cost prohibitive. The price of one is what I paid for my house in 1976. Ugh!
In Northern California: My friends who already have a Prius just bought a Tesla. I think about $35-$40,000. They had electricity rewired in their garage for charging. $10,000. Charging stations are everywhere, even in our rural town. The prices for these cars today are like home mortgages years ago. How do young families afford homes and cars that are energy efficient?
I agree! Here in the Bay Area, those are the families whose salaries are generated by Silicon Valley’s tech companies. They buy $1mil+ “Smart” homes, send their kids to private schools, and buy Teslas. I for one, will not be buying a Tesla. They are brilliantly made but knowing that Musk reaps tons of money just makes my skin crawl.
Simple answer there Irenie..They need to 'haul stuff' so a pu truck or a used SUV fills the bill.., until they find a decent place to live and generate a couple children.
Right. Everyone doesn’t have a hybrid or even a home. But the idea of affordable transportation, is more universal. Move from fossil fuels to alternative energy for our planet’s health. That has been a possibility for decades. And is political.
SDG&E is doing the same regarding solar, talk about $20/mo for residential users. On May 1, San Diego city will join other cities in SD County in a Community Choice Aggregation not-for-profit. The rate paid will be only pennies less per kWh but will disconnect from investor-owned SDG&E while supporting the evolution of the clean energy sector. San Diego Community Power is describe on its website:
"San Diego Community Power (SDCP) is a local provider of electricity that will serve our communities by bringing you cleaner energy at competitive rates. We will provide renewable electricity service to over 960,000 customer accounts in the cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and San Diego starting in 2022, with the unincorporated communities of the County of San Diego and the City of National City served in 2023.
We provide you with reliable, affordable electricity from renewable sources. We are focused on what families need and want most when it comes to their energy."
Wish that was our county’s goal! We have quite a few affluent cities up here in the Bay Area where there is solar. PG&E has never been honest with their customers. Their rates have been predicated based on the lives they’ve killed such as dated equipment, explosions, fires due to faulty or neglected power lines. Not one person on mu street has solar. We are an old neighborhood with old charming homes lined with big trees. We do not have underground wiring who h is required with new builds. Many of our homes are heated with gas and we cook with it also.
Some companies are offering lease program, which easily transfer if you sell a house.
Everyone I have talked to and they’re plenty of them, have told me not to lease but to purchase outright. I simply can’t do it this year because I need to trade in my gas guzzler (although I love it) for either a hybrid or an EV. Plus, being that we have lived in our almost 100 year old house for nearly 47 years, we now must redo our foundation. No easy fixes are what face us oldsters now.
I bought our 2013 Nissan Leaf in 2016 at the end of someone's three-year lease. It was a remarkably good deal. I found it at a very small dealer that deals exclusively in used EVs. And I hear you about old houses. Ours turns 100 this year. We've been in it 20 years. Many challenges along the way, though not something like replacing a foundation. Good luck.
Can’t❤️your statement! Thank you!
The upcoming generations are being priced out of home purchases in California especially San Francisco and Bay areas. Palo Alto fixer-uppers are often $2-$3 million and may be remodeled or torn down. And then there’s a car to buy or support.
To clarify: lease programs for solar panels, not cars.
Might be worth recalculating. We have net metering in California, which is the essential factor. PG&E charges $10 a month for grid services, which is fair. Might go to $20 or more for grid connection to help pay for grid upgrades, such as buried lines, also fair. I get 90% of the electricity I use from seventeen 3’x6’ panels on my small, townhouse roof.