[RE-wrenches] PG&E Residential Storage Initiative

[William Miller]

Colleagues:



A friend asked me about the PG&E Residential Storage Initiative
<https://www.pge.com/en/outages-and-safety/outage-preparedness-and-support/general-outage-resources/residential-storage-initiative.html#:~:text=Through%20the%20Residential%20Storage%20Initiative%2C%20we%20are%20providing,frequent%20outages%20due%20to%20climate%20change%20and%20weather.>.
I was unaware of the program but I looked it up and read through the
information.  Are any of you familiar with it?  I would be interested in
your thoughts.



Thanks in advance.



William



PS:  In case anyone wants to learn what I understand about it, below is
what I wrote to my friend:



1.   The program is to provide Energy Storage Systems (ESS), ostensibly for
your convenience during power outages.

2.   The program is implemented by Richard Heath & Associates (RHA), a
private company. Their contractors or sub-contractors will do the work.
This is a big risk as there are a lot of semi-skilled labor out there.

3.   The program is aimed at powering only selected circuits.  I don’t know
if you get to choose which circuits.  Segregating circuits is easy if your
main panel is in an unfinished garage.  It’s not so easy if your main
panels is installed in the exterior wall of a formal dining room, if you
have sub-panels or other complications.  There is a field survey and it may
be that if your home electrical system is not easy to integrate into maybe
you don’t qualify.

4.   You would be required to enroll in a power saving program
<https://www.pge.com/en/outages-and-safety/outage-preparedness-and-support/general-outage-resources/residential-storage-initiative.html#tabs-eaa85f7c5f-item-779fcb001d-tab>.
>From what I can tell in this program you will be notified periodically
between 4 and 9 PM on summer days to reduce your power consumption,
apparently through a required smart-phone app.  You will be compensated by
$1/kWh for reducing power. The FAQ page
<https://powersaver.pge.com/faq/#acc-wgd5977-2> on the Power Savers Rewards
Program has some information boxes that look like they are supposed to open
when clicked but trying three different browsers I could not get the boxes
to open.  If you read the titles of these boxes they look pretty ominous.
Supposedly you are not penalized if you do not reduce power.  Reading what
I could about this program made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

WM



Miller Solar

17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422

805-438-5600

www.millersolar.com

CA Lic. 773985
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