Proposal numbers explained

Customers ask about the numbers line by line. Here is what each one is and where it comes from.

On the cover

Average monthly electric bill: today, then with solar

The first year’s bills divided by 12. With a loan it reads “your bill today, then bill + loan payment”.

Net savings over 25 years

25 years of bills without solar minus bills with solar, minus what the customer pays for the system — the price for cash, all the payments for a loan. With no usage entered, the cover shows the first-year production instead.

On the savings page

Electric bill offset

How much of the first year’s electric bill solar removes.

Pays for itself

When the bill savings add up to what the customer paid upfront, in years. “From year 1” when nothing is paid upfront and the customer saves from the start — usually with a loan. “Not within 25 years” when the savings don’t cover the price in that time.

Month by month

The first year’s bill without and with solar for each month. LADWP bills every two months, so each bill is split between its months by days.

Total you pay

All bills over 25 years, without solar and with it. For cash, the “with solar” number includes the system price — marked with an asterisk.

Cost per kWh

Without solar: what a kWh from the utility costs today — the first year’s bill divided by the usage. With solar: what the customer pays for the system (the price or all loan payments) divided by the kWh it makes over 25 years.

Grid dependence

How much of the home’s power comes from the grid, without solar (all of it) and with solar.

Under the page: the rate increase assumed per year and the rate plans before and after solar.

Always an estimate

The proposal says it on the savings page: estimates, not a guarantee — real bills depend on weather, usage and future rates. How the numbers are made: How accurate are the numbers.