Many places already do charge a “line charge” if you have solar power and use little or no utility company power. You pay for being hooked up to the grid even if you barely use it.
This is how it works in my area. I pay about $12/mo in fees, the rest is handled by solar. They don’t pay me for excess solar, instead I get credit (in kWh, not dollars, thankfully) for it and any electricity I use at night or in the winter comes from that pool. Essentially, it makes the power company a big battery for me.
Many places already do charge a “line charge” if you have solar power and use little or no utility company power. You pay for being hooked up to the grid even if you barely use it.
This is how it works in my area. I pay about $12/mo in fees, the rest is handled by solar. They don’t pay me for excess solar, instead I get credit (in kWh, not dollars, thankfully) for it and any electricity I use at night or in the winter comes from that pool. Essentially, it makes the power company a big battery for me.
This. This is the way. It solves this problem completely, but utilities somehow refuse it. It’s almost like their argument is not in good faith …