SRP Customer Unlocks Big Savings Under E27 Plan

Conserving electricity is second nature for SRP customer Jenn Holtzman. Since moving into her newly built 2-story, 2,600 square foot home ten years ago, she has been, as she describes it, "obsessive-compulsive” about managing her energy usage. To keep her electric bill down, she did everything from setting her AC to 78, doing laundry during off-peak hours, policing family members staring into open refrigerators, wrapping her water heater, and installing solar screens over all windows. Despite her continuous efforts, her SRP bills often exceeded $300 in the summer.

To reduce future electric bills and environmental concerns, she had considered installing a rooftop solar system on her home as far back as 2011. An avid researcher, Jenn assembled information and weighed options when SRP implemented their controversial E27 demand-based rate structure for new residential solar customers in early 2015.  While most solar providers decided SRP's new demand fees rendered solar no longer financially feasible, Jenn was more determined than ever to find a solution.

She contacted Sun Valley Solar Solutions (SVSS) after hearing about how the company's innovative solar with demand management technology effectively addressed SRP's new rate plan.

“While some companies didn’t bother calling me back and others simply pulled out of SRP territory entirely, Sun Valley Solar called me back the same day,” explains Jenn. “They spent hours exploring my long-term financial goals, whether I planned to expand my electric usage in the future with things like a pool, and then spend several options, each with a clear payback schedule, for me to consider.”

Aside from treating her “like family,” what drove Jenn to select SVSS was their demand management technology, which makes the ROI of a rooftop solar work even under SRP's new rate plan. In short, by utilizing sophisticated software, the SVSS demand manager cycles a pre-selected list of large electric loads on and off during peak hours. The process allows customers to take control of their home's energy and avoid the costly demand spikes that can dramatically increase electricity fees under SRP's new E27 solar plan.

Since bringing her new solar system with demand management online in January 2016, Jenn has already seen her monthly SRP bill drop by 60% despite a warmer and cloudier winter (which drove more A/C use and lower solar output than normal). And contrary to her obsessive power-saving instincts, Jenn reports spending less time worrying about big electric appliances and instead leaving that task to the demand manager. Perhaps most telling, however, is that Jenn now uses MORE energy at times when she previously wouldn't have. “I now keep the A/C at 73 degrees all day and even put on a sweater sometimes!”

Jenn views her new SVSS demand management system as an investment already paying dividends in the form of lower monthly electric bills. But with utility rates continuing to increase, Jenn can also count on the value of her investment to only improve over time. “When I retire, I want as few bills as possible, and by installing solar now while I’m still relatively young, I will have an asset that removes expenses when I’m older. Plus, I feel good knowing that I’m reducing my impact on the environment.”

 In it's first five months of operation, Jenn's system has already reduced her carbon footprint by 2.7 metric tons! That's equivalent to offsetting the carbon pollution from an average vehicle driven for 6,380 miles!

The biggest win is that her SVSS demand management system has allowed her to refocus her obsessive tendencies on other things. “I used to stress my family out by chasing them to turn off lights and keep exterior doors shut, and now I don’t bother them nearly as much. They often say ‘Who is this person? We like her better!'”

If you're an SRP customer who's heard that solar no longer makes sense under the new SRP E27 rate plan, contact Sun Valley Solar Solutions today for a free consultation. As Jenn did, you may quickly realize that with our demand management technology, solar can once again make financial sense for SRP customers.