Home solar helps homes and communities weather increasingly powerful winter storms

• Winter storms grow stronger, and hit hard in cities and states where they used to pose no threat, causing damages and harm as far south as the Texas-Mexico border.¹

• Customers are being hit with spiking energy costs, sometimes even during these extreme storms, when affordable electricity is most important.²

• Solar panels and storage keep your home powered through winter storms, keeping your family safe and comfortable. They can even, potentially, make the whole neighborhood more energy secure, creating a more resilient grid for everyone.

This past winter dramatically demonstrated how climate change already impacts local weather, and that our energy infrastructure isn’t prepared. A series of unprecedented winter storms left five million Texans without power (and many without running water) as temperatures hit record lows while snow and ice rendered many roads unusable.

This is a problem that’s emerging nationwide; each component of our national energy infrastructure was designed to withstand its local weather conditions, but those conditions are changing faster than the grid can adapt. Fortunately, we know the solution to this problem.

As solar power and battery backup solutions are installed in more and more American homes, they’re helping to lighten the load placed upon our overworked and underprepared energy grid, while also keeping homes safe and comfortable during extreme weather, including winter storms.

New winter stress on the grid means rising energy rates and big surprise charges

Extreme weather events like winter storms can hit utility providers off-guard. Even those whose homes remain powered for the duration of these emergencies might find themselves dealing with dramatic consequences.

For example, earlier this year many Texans found themselves saddled with skyrocketing electric bills as winter storms decreased available supply just as demand began to climb. Bills increased in some cases by as many as 70 times their typical costs, forcing homeowners to empty their savings to account for charges that could climb higher than $15,000.⁷ Nobody should be forced to sacrifice their financial security just to keep the lights on.

Many utility providers across the country provide electricity at variable rates based on demand and usage. This means costs increase during periods of “peak use.” Detroit utility provider Consumers Energy, for example, increased their electricity rates by 50% during peak afternoon hours (from 2PM to 7PM) through the end of September.⁸ Many energy providers, in fact, offer variable rates that increase during peak hours, as a part of an industry-wide trend seeking to reduce power generation as demand increases. Unfortunately, inclement weather events, like a severe winter storm, dramatically increase energy demand just as supply is under the most pressure, which means electricity costs more when it’s needed most.

This leads to the frustrating but undeniable conclusion that grid-based electricity is getting more expensive as it’s becoming less reliable. And experts predict the costs of ‘peak usage’ to increase due to the ongoing impact of climate change. One study indicated that “peak load situations,” which include events like winter storms, will increase in frequency and intensity as the world warms, creating an additional predicted cost of $180 billion by the end of the century.⁹ Even for those who don’t pay variable rates, it’s easy to see how this could lead to increased costs for consumers in general.

Home solar and battery solutions are a valuable hedge against increasing electricity prices, variable rates, and gargantuan surprise bills resulting from spikes in demand. Energy harvested from the sun can be stored so it can be used when costs increase, whether it’s because of the time of day or a weather emergency. This keeps costs predictable in an increasingly unpredictable world.