ENERGY ECONOMICS

Rate Escalation	Tiered Pricing
Rate escalation plays a big factor in future energy costs, and magnifies what a solar system will save you. Historically, escalation has been around 6.7% on the average over the last 30 years, much higher than the CPI (Consumer Price Index 3.5%).	The tier pricing system is a progressive pricing system whereby the more you consume, the higher the rate becomes.

The Electricity rate hikes are taking place for 3 main reasons: The cost of Fuel, primarily natural gas ; the infrastructure needs to be updated, and; customers are being faced with higher bills because the utility companies have been deregulated and can charge whatever they want.

Much of the electricity in the United States is generated using natural gas and this commodity is closely tied to global oil prices, electric rates are bound to climb even higher. Additionally, we currently have indications that electric prices in the future should increase further, to historical levels.

The existing infrastructure in California is in dire need of repair. These repairs are costly. This cost is directly placed on the consumer. Further, with the population of California doubling since 1960 more infrastructure needs to be constructed, creating even higher energy cost.

California’s experiment with energy deregulation is not just a mess; it is a certifiable failure, although deregulation promised lower rates for some 24 million California’s investor owned utilities the State has seen ever increasing rate hikes.

25 years of the average American’s Electrical usage is responsible for:
337,024 lbs. of Carbon Dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas
1,082 lbs. of Nitrogen Dioxide, which causes smog
979 lbs. of Sulfer Dioxide, which causes acid rain
67 lbs. of Particulates that cause asthma