I and many others in UK are still enjoying our feed in tariffs however there are no longer any incentives since 1st April 2019. It is interesting to note that, whilst there were incentives about 450 users put their systems on PVOUTPUT from the UK, since then about the same number have been added doubling the niumbers. It just shows that tariffs are no longer needed to encourage installations now they are so cheap and now energy is so expensive. I also note how reliable PV is. Ours is now 14 years old and still going strong.
My system (KettBVhome) has been here for 13+ years. Here across the pond, we have a net metering situation with a true up at end of the calendar year. While our Electric Co-Op appears to be encouraging renewable energy as well as affordable electric rates, they seem to be doing otherwise. We have the highest base rate in the region for connecting to electrical service and it has been increasing yearly since I began service. Now, there is consideration of assessing a additional demand charge based on the instantaneous highest Kw seen (not kWh) between 5:00 PM -9:00 PM including Saturdays. Now I am in the process of configuring my heating system to accommodate these hours. While I have saved money in the 13+ years and I can afford these new policies, I cannot see how this will be helpful for those in financial need.
Yes payment for highest demand is not implemented in UK. In Spain, where we have had swecond homes use a fair system where everyone pays a fixed fee per day depending on the contracted KW. 8 kw is the norm and everyone pays the same. If you have a large house and aircon and a heated pool you need more than 8kw and pay more per day. Seems very sensible and fair because the cost of providing the network is dependant on the maximum current you draw, bigger demand the thicker the cables etc. In the uk a litlle old lady who lives in a tiny house and never uses more than about 5 kw peak, pays a similar flat daily rate as the mansion owner who has a 3 phase system capable of delivering 75kw peak. Our regulator is as good as useless. We are of course getting “smart meters” now which will give us a range of different prices at different times and days so that, instead of using power when we need it, we are incentivised to dodge the price peaks and use in the troughs. This is all well and good but I can’t help thinking it’s a case of the customer doing the work and suffering the inconvenience to help keep the generator supply nice and steady and make more profit. Whatever happened to “use power whenever you want at the flick of a switch”.