Hi all,
A question was posed on the video I posted about "How to solar power your house / home" which I will answer here.
The original question:
"Martin , could you let is know the cost per KWH you pay. In Canada most of our utilities are time based so you pay a lower rate at an off peak time compared to a peak time. Years ago we did have a reduction KW cost if you conserved but most of the usage was during peak time so the utilities installed whats called a smart meter on our houses that tracks usage and time of day to cost per KWH. We have a low rate of 4 KWH to mid 6 KWH and max rate of 9 cents per KW per hour."
My response:
For domestic / residential power supply there are no peak related rates. It's all related to the amount you consume and average consumption over time. The "blocks" are defined and priced according to the municipality you are in but here is an example of our current pricing in dollars:
Domestic (>450 kWh received per month)
Energy Charge (c/kWh)
Block 1 (0 – 150 kWh) 129.05 -> $0.16
Block 2 (150.1 – 350 kWh) 134.65 -> $0.17
Block 3 (350.1 – 600 kWh) 134.65 -> $0.17
Block 4 (> 600 kWh) 159.81 -> $0.20
LifeLine (<450 kWh average received)
Energy Charge (c/kWh)
Block 1 (0 – 150 kWh) 74.02 -> $0.09
Block 2 (150.1 – 350 kWh) 102.54 -> $0.13
Block 3 (350.1 – 600 kWh) 134.65 -> $0.17
Block 4 (> 600 kWh) 159.81 -> $0.20
Net Metered Domestic
Service Charge (Rand per day) 11.21 -> $1.40
Energy Charge (c/kWh) 104.53 -> $0.13
http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/electricity/Pages/ElectricityTariffs.aspxWhat caught my eye was the rates noted for domestic net metering.
Does this mean that once I can feed back to the grid I need to produce almost 11 kWh before I cover the daily service charge?!!!
Perhaps I'm not reading something correctly so I will try contact the municipality to see if this is the case.
Martin.
