My electricity bill is a pain.
And I’m far from the only one to think so.
Whenever I open my mailbox and see that my electric bill is due, I know I’ll be paying with a grudging reluctance.
No one should have to pay so much for a basic necessity – indeed, there are many people in the world who can’t pay for this basic need…
Leaving them without it.
I feel fortunate that I can afford my electricity bill.
But what if that wasn’t a concern for anyone ever again?
In some places, we’re certainly heading in that direction.
I’m not talking less expensive electricity bills.
I’m talking about companies paying you to use their electricity – ostensibly charging you negative power prices.
It might sound like a fantasy, but believe me, it’s much more common than you think…
I’ve talked before in Oil & Energy Investor about consumers being paid to use the power, rather than the other way around.
That story doesn’t take place in the United States, but in Germany.
A strong electric grid powered mostly by cheaper renewable energy makes for excess supply that must be used, as battery storage doesn’t offer quite enough space to store the extra electricity generated.
So, an excess supply of electricity, combined with no real reliable way to store it, means that German citizens were actually being paid to use electricity.
Think about it: German utility companies have so much power, they don’t even know what to do with it.
Except pay people to use it.
Now wouldn’t that be the life over here.
We can see that by using renewable energy, we can generate much more electricity at a fraction of the cost…
And we’re seeing this happen in California…
The Perks of Negative Power Prices
Known as the “Golden State,” it’s not entirely surprising that California is relying heavily on solar energy to power its buildings.
In fact, it generates so much solar energy, it’s been recently experiencing the joys of negative power prices.
California is the fifth-largest economy in the world, even larger than the United Kingdom, and back in May, it made energy history by passing a law requiring all new homes built after 2020 to have solar installations.
Currently, the state’s renewable portfolio standard requires power companies to have 50% of their total energy sources from renewable energy by 2030.
This is the first U.S. state – and possibly the first government in the world – to legally mandate its residents to go green.
And if California is anything, it’s certainly a trendsetter. Just look at the celebrity influencers coming out of just Hollywood alone.
When this state makes a change, other places tend to follow suit.
Of course, negative power doesn’t last 24/7. It occurs when there is enough sunny weather for solar cells to soak up power, lots of wind for the wind turbines to keep spinning, and little resistance from storms. This means that excess supply happens for only a few hours.
However, the fact that it is going on in one state means their solar capacity will be strong enough to sustain the fifth-largest economy in the world, and a population of 29.54 million people.
If California can do it, other states can, too.
And you can make some hefty profits from this revolutionary electricity trend…
