My electricity bill is a pain.
And I’m far from the only one to think so.
Whenever I open my mailbox and see that my electric bill is due, I know I’ll be paying with a grudging reluctance.
No one should have to pay so much for a basic necessity – indeed, there are many people in the world who can’t pay for this basic need…
Leaving them without it.
I feel fortunate that I can afford my electricity bill.
But what if that wasn’t a concern for anyone ever again?
In some places, we’re certainly heading in that direction.
I’m not talking less expensive electricity bills.
I’m talking about companies paying you to use their electricity – ostensibly charging you negative power prices.
It might sound like a fantasy, but believe me, it’s much more common than you think…
I’ve talked before in Oil & Energy Investor about consumers being paid to use the power, rather than the other way around.
That story doesn’t take place in the United States, but in Germany.
A strong electric grid powered mostly by cheaper renewable energy makes for excess supply that must be used, as battery storage doesn’t offer quite enough space to store the extra electricity generated.
So, an excess supply of electricity, combined with no real reliable way to store it, means that German citizens were actually being paid to use electricity.
Think about it: German utility companies have so much power, they don’t even know what to do with it.
Except pay people to use it.
Now wouldn’t that be the life over here.
We can see that by using renewable energy, we can generate much more electricity at a fraction of the cost…
And we’re seeing this happen in California…
The Perks of Negative Power Prices
Known as the “Golden State,” it’s not entirely surprising that California is relying heavily on solar energy to power its buildings.
In fact, it generates so much solar energy, it’s been recently experiencing the joys of negative power prices.
California is the fifth-largest economy in the world, even larger than the United Kingdom, and back in May, it made energy history by passing a law requiring all new homes built after 2020 to have solar installations.
Currently, the state’s renewable portfolio standard requires power companies to have 50% of their total energy sources from renewable energy by 2030.
This is the first U.S. state – and possibly the first government in the world – to legally mandate its residents to go green.
And if California is anything, it’s certainly a trendsetter. Just look at the celebrity influencers coming out of just Hollywood alone.
When this state makes a change, other places tend to follow suit.
Of course, negative power doesn’t last 24/7. It occurs when there is enough sunny weather for solar cells to soak up power, lots of wind for the wind turbines to keep spinning, and little resistance from storms. This means that excess supply happens for only a few hours.
However, the fact that it is going on in one state means their solar capacity will be strong enough to sustain the fifth-largest economy in the world, and a population of 29.54 million people.
If California can do it, other states can, too.
And you can make some hefty profits from this revolutionary electricity trend…
I lived in an apt. for three months and paid my rent in full, plus one month sec. dep. By the end of these three months (April to July 1999) at 1142 W. Hannah, Forest Park, IL, the toilet had malfunctioned three times, the pilot light in the stove had gone out, and someone had been in my apt. when I was out, put stuff in it I hadn’t, etc. Further, I had bought a brand-new bed, box spring and mattress, for $500.00 paid in full and had it delivered when I moved in. Instead of refunding alot of money to me, the landlords, Donna & Richard Gray, with an office on the first floor of apt. bldg., trumped up a whole bunch of false accusations on me, and had a cop remove me to a mental hospital, Riveredge, on Roosevelt Rd. in Forest Park, IL. I was at that point given back the security deposit ONLY. Incidentally, this disappeared from my purse or wallet after hospital security was through with it. A year later, I was living in another apt. I found for myself, at 5100 S. Cornell, Apt. #305, Chicago, IL. I received a ComEd (Commonwealth Edison) bill at the Hyde Park apt. for $249.00. This was supposed to be retroactive to exactly a year earlier, with the former address printed somewhere on the bill: 1142 W. Hannah, Forest Park, IL. This was by then the year 2000, around April or May or June. I paid this bill, also, afraid that my electric account would be shut off or lost or be in arrears. This now amounted to more than $2,000-$3,000 that I lost in the process of these two apartments. Another time I received a ComEd bill for $300.00 for one month, at another residence of mine, a condominium at 408 S. Austin Blvd., Oak Park, IL, #G, where I lived and paid all expenses for one year. The president of the condo association, Pat Drey, who lived on the top floor, had a ComEd job, on call 24/7. He also had had his own condo converted to gas/climate control; NOT electric heat, as mine was. I sure want some sort of refund for exorbitant and, I believe, bogus bills from ComEd over the years. Now I pay alot of high rent where electricity is included in the rent, by the nite or week, and furnished to boot. Add errant landlords and building managers to the list, who tack on high fees illegally to tenants supposedly paying rent ONLY (not building repairs, etc.)
If could get my bill paid for one month I would be grateful so I could give my grandkids and my daughters something nice
Well descripted