All the Rave at Raven Solar Services
May 2023
In this issue:
*Get Paid Right for Your Power Production!
*Introducing Raven’s Earth!!
*Do you have our Maintenance plan?
*Watch out for those pests that want free rent on your roof!
Welcome To Our Newsletter!
Hello Homeowner! We have a lot of good stuff to share with you!
We have been in business for over 6 years, and we want to share what we’ve learned to build awareness
for you about issues and concerns that may be preventing you from fully enjoying the benefits of solar.
The purpose of our newsletter is to provide specialized information to our customers and
homeowners who have invested in a solar panel system to combat utility costs by sourcing from the
beautiful Colorado sunshine! We also offer many services to keep you producing at maximum efficiency.
If you have solar, you need Raven! Raven comes through for you!
Get Paid Right For Your Power Production!
So, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
*Why is there such a “power crisis” when most power is now diversified from oil and gas
to many other sources… Including solar? We thought all this renewable energy was bringing
costs down, right?
*Why does Xcel have record profits if power is coming from these other sources?
*Why are all the utility rates increasing even though Xcel is not doing anything different?
The difference is they now have a lot more pots of diversifying their power… Meaning YOUR
solar system is producing for them! And they are profiting, not you!
“While energy bills continue to climb for customers in the Denver area, Xcel Energy reported a
net income, or profit, of $1.74 billion for the 2022 calendar year, an 8.7% increase over the previous
year and 8.42 billion for 2023. Not to mention they put in another rate increase that is supposed to take
effect February 2025”; One more questionable observation to note is that Xcel and utilities are still
monopolies in certain areas. That being said, you should know that they are wanting you to get solar so
they can turn profits off YOUR production. Currently, Xcel and utilities may be given homeowners a bad
deal. The deal is simply that the homeowner makes .02 cents or less and Xcel resells the power at a
higher rate of .07 cents. So, they make .05 cents+ off an investment that they did not put money into. If
you put money into this investment, then why aren’t you making the full return on that?! It really
depends on what your “SOLAR REWARDS” are. You deserve to see the fullest return on your investment
in your solar system! We suggest asking the utility questions and getting involved with the
Colorado Public utilities commission.
Xcel and big utilities should be capped and regulated! If they claim they spent their record
profits on new research and put their money back into the grid with technological investments … That
sounds great and dandy … but they should make their invoices public, so we have proof of that! In this
day and age where power is essential, they should not be making record profits and still wanting to raise
your rates. It doesn’t make sense.
Also, what is interesting is that the bills that Xcel and some utilities sends to the homeowner
with solar are hard to decipher and when Xcel is asked about this, they dodge the questions and say
something to the effect of “Meters go forward and backward depending on the production”, but they
never show or disclose what or how much the net meters went backward. They just say, “When it goes
backward, the homeowner gets credit for the extra…” but how does this show on the bill? It doesn’t!
This is very questionable as nothing in today’s world isn’t being recorded.
You deserve to know EXACTLY how much money you are saving and if the power you are
producing is being sold. We want you to be aware of your bill and make sure to check that you are being
compensated for your investment.
We recommend checking your bills regularly. We also suggest not using auto pay in case your
solar stops working for 6 months (this has happened a lot) and you don’t realize it and you burn right
through your credits. Always at least peek at your bill and demand transparency from your utility
company. Make sure your utility company is not making money from your power and robbing you of
what is yours!
We have done a little investigating and found that some homeowners are producing more power
than they are being compensated for on their utility bill. What we have discovered is that Xcel is moving
everyone to TIME OF USE. Beware that if you get a smart meter, you will be charged these rates and this
new structure. Time Of Use essentially means charging people more when they are home from 2-9 p.m.
(they say it’s peak use), but people are using power all the time. Tell them you don’t want the smart
meter if it’s not already installed.
Please read this article addressing these exact issues
https://coloradosun.com/2022/07/19/xcel-solar-rates-time-of-use-smart-meters/
So how is this affecting you and what can you do?
We want your utility company to be accountable to us and the government. If you do nothing
else, please do these things. If you get involved things will and can change. We are sending this
Newsletter out to everyone we serve. You can also reshare this with friends and family.
https://puc.colorado.gov/how-to-participate
Their email address dora_puc_complaints@state.co.us
Call the Colorado Public utilities commission.
- Ask that they cap and regulate how much profit your utility (Xcel
Energy) can make. - Tell them your utility (Xcel Energy) should not be allowed to charge
a connection Fee. - Your Utility (Xcel) should NOT be allowed to resell your Kilowatt
Hours at a different rate than what they bought them for. (The
Kilowatt hours are your system production)
FOR HOMEOWNERS IN DENVER:
CONTACT GOVERNOR POLIS:
Constituent Services Help Line: (303) 866-2885
Governor’s Office, Front Desk: (303) 866-2471
State Capitol Building
200 E. Colfax Ave., Rm. 136
Denver, CO 80203
Email the Governor: Governorpolis@state.co.us
CONTACT THE LT. GOVERNOR:
Lt. Governor Office Phone: (303) 866-4075
And there’s always Facebook and Twitter
So, contact your mayor, your governor, the city council, etc. Bring up these concerns. Be a voice!
We are encouraging every homeowner we service or deal with to get involved by demanding
transparency, making complaints, asking questions, etc. Change can only happen when there is a lot of
clamoring from the people. Is that you? Do you want to be compensated for the power you produce
accurately?
Introducing Raven’s Earth!!
What do you do when you clean bird waste off of roofs all week?? Well, we’ve decided to turn it
into nutrient rich compost to enrich planting soil! Why waste the waste?! We have an excellent
composter and we have formulated a compost that will soon be available for sale. Let us know if you’re
interested in purchasing these bags to help flourish your spring and summer garden! Coming in 2024!!
Do You Know About Our Maintenance Plans??
We do annual and semi-annual panel washings and inspections…our inspections include
checking the inverters, inspecting any critter guards and wires and such, and making sure your system is
reporting to the online monitoring portal. Here are the maintenance plans we offer:
Solar panel Inspection cleaning/maintenance plan options:
Semi-annual plan: Solar panel washing and inspection of solar system $250 each visit for up to 25 panels
with any additional panels at $20 each.
Annual plan: Solar panel washing and inspection of solar system $380 each visit for up to 25 panels with
any additional panels at $20 each.
Inspectable items:
- Solar inverters
- Solar panels
- Roof mounting hardware
- Is the solar system functioning at peak performance?
- Is a firmware upgrade needed?
- Panel Burns and cracking conditions
Watch Out For Those Pests That Want Free Rent On Your Roof!
So, you’ve installed a solar panel system on your roof to soak up the Colorado sun to supplement
your utility bill, right?! … WELL, the squirrels and birds think you’ve opened a new community housing
project for them, and their friends and they can’t wait to move in! And boy can they wreak havoc on it in
no time at all… Often causing much damage and expensive repairs to your system.
It’s time to evict them!
We offer bird cleanings, humane nest removal, waste cleanup, and panel washings to take care
of the mess. We also strongly suggest getting ahead of the damage by installing a critter guard to prevent
such intrusions in the future!