SRP E-27 Plan | SRP Customer Generation Plan

The Salt River Project utility (SRP) offers a variety of SRP Solar Price Plans in addition to their Standard Residential Plans. This includes the SRP Customer Generation Plan (SRP E-27 Plan), Average Demand Price Plan, Time-of-Use Export Plan, and Electric Vehicle Export Plan. Customers can save money on their electric bill by going solar and choosing from the variety of solar pricing plans.

Most SRP customers with rooftop solar choose the Customer Generation Plan. This plan is also known as the E-27 Plan. Extra energy supplied by SRP on this plan is between 4 and 6 cents.

This is inexpensive compared to SRP’s normal rate of 13 cents per kWh. The E-27 Plan also includes Net Metering credits for the excess energy that is sent to SRP’s grid.

The trade off is that SRP includes a “demand charge” on this plan. If demand is not kept low during on-peak times, the homeowner can pay more for electricity after solar than they did before solar. Homeowners can save money with with this plan if they have a demand manager.

What is a Demand Manager (Load Controller)?

A demand manager, also known as a load controller, is a device that is often installed with a home solar panel system. Demand is the amount of electricity in kilowatts (kW) the house is using at any given time. This is not to be confused with kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is the measure of how much electricity is used over time.

The demand manager limits energy usage during peak hours on plans with time-of-day pricing (also known as time-of-use). Demand increases as more appliances are turned on simultaneously in the home.

In the Phoenix, AZ area, the appliance that uses the most demand is the air conditioner. A single air conditioner can use between 1 kW and 5 kW of demand, depending how big and efficient it is. Other appliances in the home use demand as well, but typically less than the air conditioner.

The demand manager has a demand limit setting, and the circuits of the large appliances in the home are ran through the device. Say, for example, the air conditioner uses just under 4 kW and the demand limit setting is at 4 kW. If someone in the home turns on the electric dryer, the demand manager will cycle the air conditioner off.

This is how the demand manager stops the home from exceeding a certain demand level. The device does not stop people from using the large appliances, it just turns off other large appliances to keep the demand low.

Solar and Demand Pricing

The Customer Generation Plan has a “demand charge” that can be quite expensive for homeowners with a solar system. Keep in mind, demand pricing does not occur during off-peak periods. The demand charge only applies to the amount of demand used during on-peak periods.

During the Winter months of November through April, on-peak times are 5AM to 9AM and 5PM to 9PM. There is a total of eight on-peak hours per weekday in the Winter. During the Summer months of May through October, on-peak times are 2PM to 8PM. There is a total of six on-peak hours per weekday in the Summer.

The demand charge is calculated by taking the maximum 30-minute kilowatt (kW) demand during on-peak periods of the month. There are approximately 352 30-minute periods during the Winter and 264 during the Summer. SRP uses the single 30-minute on-peak period with the highest demand to calculate the demand charge for the month.

SRP Customer Generation (E-27) Plan Pricing Components

The E-27 Plan includes the following fees per month:

• Service Charge (Grid Fee): $32.44
• Demand Charge: See Below
• Energy Charges: See Below
• City and State Taxes

Demand Charges

The demand charges per kW on the E27 Plan are as follows:

• Winter (November – April)
  • First 3 kW: $3.49
  • Next 7 kW: $5.58
  • All Additional kW: $9.57
• Summer (May, June, September, October)
  • First 3 kW: $7.89
  • Next 7 kW: $14.37
  • All Additional kW: $27.28
• Summer Peak (July, August)
  • First 3 kW: $9.43
  • Next 7 kW: $17.51
  • All Additional kW: $33.59

Energy Charges

The energy charges per kWh on the E27 Plan are as follows:

• Winter (November – April)
  • On-Peak: 4.57 ¢
  • Off-Peak: 4.17 ¢
• Summer (May, June, September, October)
  • On-Peak: 4.91 ¢
  • Off-Peak: 3.89 ¢
• Summer Peak (July, August)
  • On-Peak: 6.51 ¢
  • Off-Peak: 4.41 ¢

SRP Demand Manager Rebate

SRP offers a variety of rebates that you can take advantage of. The utility encourages its solar energy customers to get a demand manager by offering a $250 rebate on the purchase and installation of a demand manager.