Easy way to safely access backup power for home and free (for some PG&E customers)

[frautumn]

Hi @Wsh68 , just checking in to see if you've had the chance to use this again. I've been checking the PG&E website and they finally this week restarted this program after reaching the limit for 2023. Fingers crossed I'll get approved and get it installed. However one thing they require is that you have a generator that is listed on their approved list -- it's a long list but the Lightning its not on it. I'm curious if when you applied you listed an actual generator instead of your Lightning?

Will let you know how far I get...

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[Roy2001]

Thanks for info. PG&E price is 35 cents for tier1 and 43 cents for tier2 now. This could be the cheap way to power the house without spending almost $10k to install the system. I could charge at $0.1/kWh at work.

 

[Wsh68]

Hi @Wsh68 , just checking in to see if you've had the chance to use this again. I've been checking the PG&E website and they finally this week restarted this program after reaching the limit for 2023. Fingers crossed I'll get approved and get it installed. However one thing they require is that you have a generator that is listed on their approved list -- it's a long list but the Lightning its not on it. I'm curious if when you applied you listed an actual generator instead of your Lightning?

Will let you know how far I get...

I have a generator and listed it but no one ever checked for confirmation that I had it. my neighbor used the same generator model number and they didn’t check him either. Here’s a pic. We’ve had no outages since the first one but I’m fully confident in the setup for the next one. Best of luck with the process. The communication was non existent and one day the PG&E sub contractor just showed up on a Saturday to do the install. No idea what would have happened if I wasnt home etc. But I like to think he would have just installed it and left the cord and instruction. It’s such a simple solution and ideal for our trucks. Just remember you need to get a second cord to add to the PG&E one not because of length but because the PG&E cord is too thick for the rain flap on the truck.

 

[Zaptor]

I had seen this before, but when I emailed them, they said they don't have approval from my utility (PGE Oregon)... but since we now know that it works, does anyone know what the ramifications might be if I were to break the 'seal' and slap this thing on myself (with my electrician buddy present)?

 

[Hammick]

Looks like a nice setup but it sucks that you can't use it to power your house when the grid is up.

 

[Wsh68]

Looks like a nice setup but it sucks that you can't use it to power your house when the grid is up.

True. No way to manually override the system PG&E supplied. The off the shelf one may be different.

 

[frautumn]

PG&E price is 35 cents for tier1 and 43 cents for tier2 now

Are you on an EV plan with PG&E? With EV2A plan I am currently paying $0.28 off peak (midnight to 3pm). Here are my most recent rates:

 

[Roy2001]

Are you on an EV plan with PG&E? With EV2A plan I am currently paying $0.28 off peak (midnight to 3pm). Here are my most recent rates:

Can't chose EV plan as AC needs a lot of electricity. More than 1500 kWh per month summer time.

Also our EV plan off peak is $0.32 now. It was $0.27 last year.

 

[frautumn]

lso our EV plan off peak is $0.32 now. It was $0.27 last year.

Yep, just got my new bill with the new Jan rates. Off-peak rate went up 23.9% (27.8 to 34.5 cents per kWHr) on Jan 1st!!!!!!! Here's the bill:

 

[Roy2001]

Yep, just got my new bill with the new Jan rates. Off-peak rate went up 23.9% (27.8 to 34.5 cents per kWHr) on Jan 1st!!!!!!! Here's the bill:

Summer peak would be more than 60 cents when I need AC. PG&E is just horrible.

 

[GDN]

As some of you may know, PG&E has been in the headlines for flipping the breaker when certain areas are under threat of fire. Usually during high wind events in CA. We live in the country and depend on a water well. PGE has tried to mitigate the issues by offering free powerwalls (I missed that one), free 240V generators (meh, got that already) but recently they’ve offered a device like this one. https://www.generlink.com/ for free to us. I read the specs and signed up. a Few weeks ago they showed up and installed it on our meter in under 30 minutes. Their guy had me sign the paperwork, he briefly explained it, handed my a 35 foot cord and instructions and took off. Although the plug should fit our 240V bed outlet, it’s too fat and hits the dust/rain flap so it cannot be inserted properly. So I ordered an 8 foot heavy duty extension here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083JJPS7D?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details and it’s perfect for the job. So now for under $50 I have exactly what I need to power our house (I’ll have to shut off the spa, one water heater and not run the dryer) but otherwise we should be good to go for the winter. I know not everyone can get One of these from their utility but in some states you can purchase one and the utility will install it for you. For us, it’s really a great solution. We lost power for a week a few years ago and playing Games with a noisy generator and extension cords, gas cans etc for old real quick. Hope this helps others. The whole setup takes me under 2 minutes to connect in the event we lose Power. Some pics and few relevant links.
https://www.pge.com/en_US/residenti...ngs-programs/backup-power-transfer-meter.page

A

This is a great device. I'll have to check with Oncor (TX power distribution) to see if they use or allow them. I'm not sure they could not allow it - it is on my side of the meter, but the meter has to be pulled so they would be involved.

Anyway - I wanted to let you know it looks like you can truly test anytime you want too. Page 22 of the operating manual. Page 1 has a red star with a reference to this page for testing. As long as the house is pulling less than 50 amps you can plug the generator in and take over powering the house.

 

[Wsh68]

This is a great device. I'll have to check with Oncor (TX power distribution) to see if they use or allow them. I'm not sure they could not allow it - it is on my side of the meter, but the meter has to be pulled so they would be involved.

Anyway - I wanted to let you know it looks like you can truly test anytime you want too. Page 22 of the operating manual. Page 1 has a red star with a reference to this page for testing. As long as the house is pulling less than 50 amps you can plug the generator in and take over powering the house.

That’s very cool. thank you for Sharing. I’ll have to run the test then And see what the truck reports as far as DRAW from the house. We were away last week at our mountain house when we lost power for a day at our primary residence and so I didn’t have the chance to put the truck to work. I did however use my shop vac today to clean up all the gravel from our snow boots that was in the floor mats. I was getting the extension cord out of the garage and it hit me “wait, I don’t need that, I have all the power I need onboard”

 

[MapleMan650]

We did a whole electrical panel upgrade in 2021 to get ready for our Lightning. Last year, we were denied this ATS install because PG&E came out and said our panel isn’t an approved model to be used with PG&E. I told them we just did the upgrade and PG&E approved the model during that process. The installer was super nice and said he was sorry but he wasn’t allowed to complete the install.

Back to the manual transfer switch for me!

 

[dmd3home]

As some of you may know, PG&E has been in the headlines for flipping the breaker when certain areas are under threat of fire. Usually during high wind events in CA. We live in the country and depend on a water well. PGE has tried to mitigate the issues by offering free powerwalls (I missed that one), free 240V generators (meh, got that already) but recently they’ve offered a device like this one. https://www.generlink.com/ for free to us. I read the specs and signed up. a Few weeks ago they showed up and installed it on our meter in under 30 minutes. Their guy had me sign the paperwork, he briefly explained it, handed my a 35 foot cord and instructions and took off. Although the plug should fit our 240V bed outlet, it’s too fat and hits the dust/rain flap so it cannot be inserted properly. So I ordered an 8 foot heavy duty extension here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083JJPS7D?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details and it’s perfect for the job. So now for under $50 I have exactly what I need to power our house (I’ll have to shut off the spa, one water heater and not run the dryer) but otherwise we should be good to go for the winter. I know not everyone can get One of these from their utility but in some states you can purchase one and the utility will install it for you. For us, it’s really a great solution. We lost power for a week a few years ago and playing Games with a noisy generator and extension cords, gas cans etc for old real quick. Hope this helps others. The whole setup takes me under 2 minutes to connect in the event we lose Power. Some pics and few relevant links.
https://www.pge.com/en_US/residenti...ngs-programs/backup-power-transfer-meter.page

A

I'm with PG&E and am in a class 2 fire zone and have a Pro Lightning with pro power onboard. This would be perfect for me. But the link you provided must be down as it just goes to general information page. If you have anymore info on the program and exactly how to access it or a PG&E contact, I would very much appreciate it. This is exactly what I've been looking for! Thanks

 

[Wsh68]

https://www.pge.com/en/outages-and-...gram.html#tabs-60f688bab6-item-ad76173cec-tab

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