Battery Incentives in Southern California Edison: 2021

You’ve probably noticed that your electricity bill has risen, right? Southern California Edison (SCE) planned a 14.4% rate increase for residential customers in 2021. It’s quite a large rate increase for one year! 

Utilities in California are facing rising costs due to wildfire mitigation, transmission development, and rising temperatures that California utilities must deal with each year. One fact that all Californians can count on moving forward: electricity costs will only rise in the future. 

However - there are steps that California homeowners can take to eliminate their electricity costs. It’s a strong idea to consider purchasing one (or all) of the following three items. All three have amazing incentives on a Federal, state, and utility level. 

Home Energy Storage System Incentives (Home Batteries): 

SCE has lots of rebates and incentives for every type of homeowner. 

• Self-Generation Incentive Program: This program can cover a majority of the costs to install self-generating energy storage systems in high-fire risk areas or other qualifying communities. These are perfect backup batteries to provide power for your home when an outage or a Public Safety Power Shutoff occurs. Check out the SCE website for full details.
  
  

• Electric Portable Power Stations: Beginning July 1, 2021 residential SCE customers who live in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 high fire risk zone can receive up to five $75 rebates for purchasing qualified Electric Portable Power Stations. Go to the SCE Marketplace and click the Product Rebate to apply.
  
  
• Portable Power Generators: SCE customers may be eligible to receive a $200 rebate (or a $500 rebate for income-qualified customers) for the purchase of a qualifying Portable Power Generator. Again, you must be in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 high fire risk zone.
  
  
• Smart Thermostats: You can also receive a $75 bill credit when you enroll eligible smart thermostats in with the SCE demand response program through SCE authorized thermostat providers. 

Solar Panel Installation Incentives

SCE has incentive programs and so does the Federal government. Why not take advantage of both when purchasing a solar power system that can be used in conjunction with your home battery system?

• Net Energy Metering (NEM 2.0): This is a special billing program for SCE customers who are using solar. It’s simple: SCE deducts the energy you export to the grid at times when generation exceeds on-site demand from your bill, and you can even earn surplus credits for solar energy you produce.
  
  
• Self-Generation Incentive Program: As an SCE customer you can receive a cash incentive from 50 cents to $4.25 per watt for installing your own qualifying electricity generating equipment.
  
  
• 26% Federal Solar Tax Credit: This is a Federal tax credit of up to 26% of the cost of your solar system. For example, purchasing a $20,000 solar system will earn you a $5,200 tax credit. This tax credit is only available if you purchase solar in 2021 and 2022 at the latest. 

Electric Vehicle Incentives

If you’ve purchased a home battery system or a solar installation - why not use them to power your electric vehicle and run your life on the sun? There are strong California state incentives that are available for a range of electric vehicles and even motorcycles.

• California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP): This is a program that promotes clean vehicle adoption with rebates for California residents (up to $4,500). CVRP rebates vary based on the type of vehicle that you purchase.
  
  Fuel-cell vehicles can receive a $4,500 rebate and battery EVs are eligible for a $2,000 rebate. Hybrid vehicles can receive $1,000, and zero-emission motorcycles can additionally receive $750.
  
  There are also increased rebates for applicants that are financially eligible. If you think you might be eligible: check out the CVRP website for full details.
  
  
• California Clean Fuel Reward: This is a rebate for California residents who purchase (or lease) eligible new Battery Electric (BEV) or Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. The rebate is up to $1,500.
  
  It’s a simple process: find an eligible vehicle and then visit a participating auto retailer. Purchase a vehicle and then enjoy a smooth $1,500 discount off your purchase price. It’s that easy. Find out more about EV rebates and incentives on the Clean Fuel Reward website. 

Additional SCE Support

Reach Zero Net Energy

If you purchase a home battery, solar system, and an electric vehicle - you can run your entire life on sunshine. It’s a fascinating opportunity. Why not take advantage of these strong incentives and rebates? You can save serious money in the short-term with incentives and save even more money long-term as you eliminate your electric and gasoline bills.

Let’s check out an example. 

Our customer Peder Norby is an energy pioneer who purchased a solar system with Stellar Solar in 2007. 

Since then, his family has saved over $100,000 by not buying gas or electricity for 14 years! And they’re still saving several thousand dollars each year.

This amount will likely increase to the million dollar range over the life of their solar system and EV vehicles. Peder achieved ‘Zero Net Energy’ by eliminating all his power and gas bills with a solar system, battery, and electric vehicles. 

Homeowners such as Peder have decided to take their energy future in their own hands. They no longer want to be subjected to yearly electricity rate increases. They use clever tricks such as generating their solar energy and powering their electric vehicles with their home battery systems during off-peak hours. 

This means they only consume energy generated from their solar system and sell back energy to the grid with their battery. Actually, they are doing a valuable service to California utilities by lessening overall energy demand during peak hours. 

Does the concept of achieving ‘Zero Net Energy’ sound appealing? You don’t actually need a large amount of cash upfront to make this possible. Many homeowners purchase a solar system with a loan and they are still eligible for the Federal Tax Credit. 

Additionally, if you’re in a high-fire risk area you can take advantage of generous SGIP programs that might virtually cover the cost of your home battery, portable battery, and other energy saving products, as we noted at the beginning of the article.

Getting a Solar Battery Installed in SCE Territory

If you are thinking about installing a solar battery backup, Stellar Solar is a great resource. Solar batteries have become extremely popular in 2021. 

These are perfect for offsetting Time-of-Use Residential Rate Plans and protecting your home against rolling blackouts during the fire season. It’s truly useful to have a solar battery that can save money AND keep the power on during blackouts or grid failures. 

There are a variety of options from high-quality manufacturers that we install. Our brands of batteries that we install include Tesla Powerwall, LG Chem, Enphase, and SolarEdge. That’s correct - we are a certified Tesla Powerwall installer and were one of the first in southern California.

 There a three big reasons to install a solar battery backup:

1. Offset TOU Charges: Time-of-Use charges can make it difficult to maintain an affordable electric bill. If you purchase a battery system you can program the battery to store power during the day and use it during the costly On-Peak times. Basically, you avoid paying high rates on electricity altogether.
   
   
2. Never Lose Power: We’re in a new normal when it comes to grid failure. It’s nice to have peace of mind that you won’t lose power during blackouts or other grid issues in the future. When everyone else loses power, you can use your battery to keep your home running.
   
   
3. Add to Home Value: Adding a battery can increase your home value - just like a solar system can. What buyer wouldn’t be intrigued by a home that has eliminated its electric bill? If they get an EV they can achieve zero net energy easily!

It’s a great time to go green in any capacity. Take advantage of the incentives while they’re there. Eliminate your electric and gasoline bills. Add value to your home. 

It’s all there for the taking. If you want a Solar Battery Backup installed - we are here to help and can also complete the job alongside a solar installation. 

Some of our customers have a Tesla that they plug into their new Tesla Powerwall that we install. Suddenly, their solar system is powering their home and their transportation!

Other customers might purchase a solar system with a loan and install a home battery. They take advantage of the tax credit and other incentives to nab a sweet deal that doesn’t put them out of pocket. It does however immediately lower their bills and overall overheads. 

How? 

Running their life on the power of the sun! 

We’ve been serving customers across the SCE territory for over 20 years. We would love to help if you want to get informed about the benefits of a home battery or going solar in general. 

Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.