So in theory a baseline maintenance fee could solve this. You just make it so the metered charge counts against that fee until it’s covered, so the people who don’t have alternate sources of electricity aren’t affected.
I think the “capitalism” part comes around because most electric grids (in the US) are privately owned and actively try to turn a profit. For those companies, the fact that some people use solar panels will just become an excuse to charge everyone a fee.
Renewable energy is great
Having a power grid is great, needs money to maintain
Having on demand power generation is great, needs money to maintain.
The current model pays for the maintenance and carrying costs of the grid and always available power generation with usage.
The current model doesn’t work when electricity has a negative cost. So we would lose either the on demand power generation or access to the grid.
It’s not capitalism that’s the problem, just the current pricing model.
So in theory a baseline maintenance fee could solve this. You just make it so the metered charge counts against that fee until it’s covered, so the people who don’t have alternate sources of electricity aren’t affected.
I think the “capitalism” part comes around because most electric grids (in the US) are privately owned and actively try to turn a profit. For those companies, the fact that some people use solar panels will just become an excuse to charge everyone a fee.
Current model where? My energy bill contains a separate fixed cost for grid access and maintenance. It’s currently €1.16/day.