Memo To Self: File Under "No Good Deed Goes Unpunshished" -- Especially In California -- July 3, 2015

Updates

Later, 4:58 p.m. Pacific time: I don't follow the California grid that closely, nor its history, but something tells me this newest rate increase is a continuation of the saga that began in 2000 and 2001. Perhaps. Perhaps not. 

Later, 4:42 p.m. Pacific time: this is the SF Gate take on the same story:

The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to narrow the gap between prices paid by people who use very little electricity and those who consume more. Over time, that gap has grown so wide that the most efficient Californians now pay less for electricity than the utilities spend supplying it to them.

California has long charged utility customers higher prices for using large amounts of electricity as a way to encourage conservation. And while the commission’s vote will benefit many homeowners who use more than average, the biggest energy “hogs” now will face a new penalty, a “super-user electric surcharge” designed to prod them to conserve.

In addition, most residential customers will soon pay different prices for electricity use at different times of day, with the highest prices likely hitting in the afternoon. The move, long studied by California officials, could reduce the strain on the state’s power grid when electricity demand reaches its daily, late-afternoon peak.

Shifting some electricity use to mid-day or the evening, in turn, could help the state integrate more solar and wind power into the energy mix. Solar power plants hit their maximum output just after noon, while California’s wind farms generate most of their electricity at night.

Original Post

And here it is, which I alluded to earlier today:

Most residential customers in California will see their electricity bills increase under a new rate structure adopted Friday by state regulators.

The Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a plan that raises rates on more efficient users while giving a break to big energy users. 

It is the first overhaul of the rate system since brownouts roiled California 15 years ago. Legislators at the time expanded rate-paying tiers from two to four and froze lowest-tier rates to protect households from huge swings in energy bills.

Wow, this is going to go over like a lead balloon.

First thing I'm going to do is find out how much electricity I need to use to put me in the "high-energy, least efficient" category. I'll buy it at a cut-rate price, store it in my Tesla home battery, and re-sell it to the neighbors who are now paying through the nose for conserving electricity. LOL. I can't make this stuff up.