Current Issues
Last week, I stumbled onto one of the best reminders of why I love my job. A guy I’ll call “Luke” had gone solar in Hawaii, and he was telling people online that the cost of doing so here in the PNW would exceed six figures. When I gently pointed out that these systems usually run $25K–$35K, he said I had to add on the price of a new roof, batteries, and a new EV. No matter how I tried to explain, he kept insisting that these were necessities: to Luke, this was all a single, indivisible project. He even said he couldn’t go solar in Kitsap because he couldn’t afford another electric vehicle!
After reflecting on the conversation, it occurred to me that Luke didn’t know about Washington’s net metering policies. Most utilities here credit your account kilowatt-for-kilowatt for any electricity you export to the grid–what’s commonly called “one-to-one net metering.” The grid, in effect, functions like a very large, very reliable battery that you don’t have to buy, install, or maintain. This allows Washington solar owners to bank up months’ worth of summer credit to get them through the winter.
Coming from Hawaii, Luke had very different expectations. Since 2015, Hawaiian solar installs are either credited at a sharply reduced rate or forbidden from exporting to the grid at all. Without a battery, you can’t even store midday excess for that evening, let alone save it for winter. Even with batteries, your home needs to be fully electrified to minimize the waste of anything over what is necessary to charge them. An electric vehicle charging in the daytime is exactly the kind of energy sink that a smart homeowner ought to have to avoid losing considerable value from their solar.
Luke’s thinking was actually really smart–for a Hawaii homeowner. He just hadn’t wrapped his head around the genuine gift of Washington’s net metering. Here, going solar doesn’t require a complete lifestyle reinvention. It doesn’t require a new car, a new roof (unless your roof actually needs it), full home electrification, or a bank of batteries in your garage. It just requires home ownership, grid access, and a willingness to let us take a look.
That gift, however, comes with an expiration date: PSE has exceeded the 4% threshold that allows them to change the net metering schedules, and the current schedules expired last year. That 4% threshold refers to 4% of the 1996 peak load–a figure that has no actual technical bearing on anything here 30 years later, but it’s the metric that has been used in WA’s Net Metering Law since 1998. Andy wrote about this back in 2024, and the Value of Solar study group he mentioned there has been funded and convened. Its findings are due this autumn, and utilities will surely use those findings to set new rates if the state allows it. People who get in before that change are expected to be grandfathered in.
So, good news for Luke–and maybe for you, too!
- You don’t have to do it all at once.
- You don’t have to redesign your entire life around it.
- You just have to start.
Give us a call: the gift is real, and it’s yours to claim.
–Matthew Barrett is the Solar Navigator at Power Trip Energy Corp, based in Port Townsend, WA. Power Trip Energy serves Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties and the surrounding region. Questions? Call us at (360) 643-3080 or fill out the form in the sidebar to know more.
by Matthew Barrett | Jun 8, 2026
Energy prices are climbing at rates we haven’t seen in decades, and if you have been shocked by your recent bills, you’re not alone. Between record-high gas prices and double-digit utility hikes, the perception that something has changed is real.
But here’s the good news: You don’t have to be a passive passenger on this ride.
Why is this happening?
Electricity is rising for a few reasons:
- The Data Boom: The explosion of AI and cloud computing has created an insatiable demand for electricity.
- The “Electrification” Trend: As more homes move away from gas and toward heat pumps and generally replace consumption of gas and propane with electricity, which is a very good thing.
- Electric Vehicles: The conversion of our personal transportation, and more busses and delivery vehicles to EV’s is a positive trend resulting in lower costs overall, but definitely contributing to increasing electrical demand.
- Grid Infrastructure: Locally, utilities like Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and our regional PUDs are raising rates. Some have seen 12% increases this year alone, with rate structures already approved for 30% increases over the next three years.
Oil, gasoline and diesel have their own issues leading to higher prices:
- Global Instability: While the US is a leading oil producer, our prices are still tethered to a global system. Recent conflicts have sent gas prices in Washington to a record-breaking $5.67 per gallon this month. Increasing domestic oil production has not helped secure US energy independence.
- Oil Companies and Cartels Serve Shareholders and Producers, Not Customers: Oil companies and petro-states face intense pressure to maximize profits in whatever manner possible. In the US, oil companies have a much more powerful voice to influence policy in Washington DC than individual citizens.
The “K-Shaped” Reality
Economists have called the present situation the “K-shaped economy.” Financial educator Peter Atwater originally used the term to describe the uneven recovery after COVID-19, but it is now recognized as the “new normal” for the US economy. In the US, we see a shrinking middle class and the gap between rich and poor is growing. While the wealthy see their assets grow, middle-class families are being pulled down by the rising cost of food, staples, and—most aggressively—energy.
A 2025/2026 Dept. of Energy study highlighted that 1 in 3 households now struggle to pay their energy bills. For many people on the Olympic Peninsula, this phenomenon is a direct threat to their long-term financial stability.
The Solution: Building Your Own “Energy Hedge”
You can cross your fingers and hope for better government policy, but I don’t recommend waiting to be helped. The most effective way to protect your family is to decouple your lifestyle from the global energy market. We should all strive to live full lives while not consuming excess energy, however for the energy we do use, there is a better way.
- Solar as a Fixed Cost: When you install solar, you aren’t “buying” power anymore; you’re “owning” it. You trade an unpredictable, rising monthly expense for a fixed, one-time investment. The daily solar energy reaching your home is available for you with no middle-man.
- The EV Advantage: Combining solar with an Electric Vehicle allows you to “fuel” your car with the sunshine hitting your roof. Even with Washington’s high gas taxes and $5+ per gallon prices, your “per gallon” equivalent with solar is essentially pennies.
- Local Incentives: While federal credits have shifted, Washington still offers a Sales Tax Exemption on solar installations through 2029, saving you 9-10% right off the top.
Making these investments in your personal energy policy are one way you can make sure you don’t get stuck on that downward arm of the “K”.
A Note to Our Community: Many of you reading this have already made the switch. You’ve seen the meters run backward and felt the relief of a $10-20 electric bill in the summer (base rate only with no kWh charges.). Would you consider forwarding this to one friend or neighbor? Helping our community become energy-independent is how we protect our clients and keep our local economy more stable and resilient against these external shocks.
23 Years of Local Expertise
We’ve spent over two decades on the Olympic Peninsula helping over 1,200+ families take control of their energy future. We understand local microclimates and the specific requirements of our local utilities.
Ready to see the math for your own home? Click here to request a custom Solar Assessment or give us a call. Let’s make sure the only thing rising this summer is the sun—not your power bill.
by Andy Cochrane | May 6, 2026
In a recent Jefferson PUD newsletter, there was a thoughtful essay from Dan Toepper, one of the three JPUD commissioners. At Power Trip Energy we feel fortunate JPUD has three commissioners who manage the present as well as look ahead. His essay is linked here https://www.jeffpud.org/the-power-squeeze/
Commissioner Toepper calls our attention to the forecasted trends of increasing power demand and decreasing power generation capacity. The increase is from population growth and data centers taking advantage of the PNW cheap power. The decrease is a result of carbon-based (coal) plant retirements and potential decrease in hydroelectric generation, for reasons both voluntary and climate-wise. These troubling trends are compounded by grid congestion, which isn’t just a local issue; it’s a regional one involving organizations like the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), which manages the “highways” of our power grid.
He points out that responses to these issues will certainly cause increasing electricity prices no matter what path we take. He correctly points out that one of the smartest things we can do is alleviate this pressure upon ourselves through efficiency and energy conservation. We could all use the reminder to ourselves that once we’ve met the basic needs, our quality of life is not dependent on how much energy we consume.
The commissioner mentions the use of natural gas power plants for meeting current demand increases as a bridge to what comes later. I do believe it is possible to meet demand growth with a combination of renewables, utilization of storage, intelligent load shifting, and energy conservation. Renewables plus storage can create We can thereby eliminate the need for future increase in carbon-based fossil fuel consumption. While allocating our resources in this manner would require more dollar investment under our current economic models, I feel the benefits of decreased pollution are worth it, not to mention the political benefits of being less dependent upon fossil fuels and all of the economic sensibility and liberty that brings.
As an individual you will not have much effect on national energy policy, and unless I am imagining things, the fossil fuel industry has a much more controlling say in how things go with our federal government than you do. The good news is that you can control your personal energy policy starting right now. Your choice to invest in rooftop solar PV can help alleviate these coming pressures for yourself and your community. We are here to help you evaluate your options and install the most sensible, effective and robust solar array for your home.
8.4 kW PV system with Maxeon PV modules, Port Townsend, May 2025
by Andy Cochrane | Mar 20, 2026
PSE has announced that they have added the Franklin and Enphase ESS (Energy Storage Systems, or more simply, batteries) to their Flex Program for storage. Customers with previously installed systems will be able to enroll some time shortly after the beginning of the year. PSE has revamped the program to pay a one-time rebate of $75/kWh of storage ($1000 maximum), and $0.50 per kwh ($500/year maximum) during utility-activated Flex Events.
PSE’s Flex Program
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is the state’s largest utility and has been showing some innovative thinking in terms of transparency and involving customers in demand response. Demand response is a term that describes altering energy usage to match availability. As we phase out polluting fossil fuels, we will increase electrification and install more renewable energy sources on the grid. Those renewable energy projects will be both utility scale and smaller distributed generation like the solar arrays on our clients’ roofs. There are benefits to everyone that participates in this transition, and there will be some new challenges as well.
PSE is taking advantage of current technology to communicate with their customers to give them the option to participate in several different ways. In the simplest form, PSE texts customers and lets them know there is an incentive to decrease your power consumption at the moment. Customers get paid to enroll in the program and get paid for the savings they can enact during what PSE calls “Flex Events.” Additional aspects of the program can provide rebates and incentives for using “smart” thermostats, EV’s, or residential-scale batteries which can be controlled by the utility to shift the timing of demand or to allow PSE to utilize stored energy. Learn more from PSE here https://www.pse.com/en/rebates/PSE-flex
If you are a PSE customer, there is no downside to enrolling in the alerts, so I would certainly say to go ahead with that at least. You can learn more for yourself about the details of the other aspects of the program.
Reasons for the Flex Program
PSE has said they don’t implement the Flex protocols in advance of outages necessarily, but that it is more of a cost savings measure at times when energy is more expensive. Kiara Doyle gives some coverage to PSE’s program for the Seattle Medium here https://seattlemedium.com/reduce-energy-costs-seattle/
One of the main underlying trends our region is facing is a decline in available hydro power due to declining precipitation and snowpacks. There is no doubt we are seeing the climate gradually changing, even if there is still discussion regarding the complexity surrounding the causes of global climate change and the effects we see here in the Pacific NW. The main reason we have been motivated to create Power Trip Energy and to continue encouraging clean local rooftop solar is to mitigate our contribution to CO2 into the atmosphere, while helping our clients save money. Even if one does not think there is conclusive evidence showing correlation between human carbon emissions and decreased snowpack feeding our hydro system, it seems that it makes a lot of sense to err on the side of caution and avoid them as much as possible.
Another dominating trend we will see is a continued transition to clean renewable energy. In 2024, over 80% of the new power capacity on the US grid was solar and batteries. We are seeing a significant increase in the power we need for electrification of homes and vehicles, and for new energy hungry industries such as the increase in data centers for our information technologies.
You will be participating in this change whether you take personal action or not. The question will be whether you pay someone else to provide your power, or whether you invest in producing it yourself. You can help the grid by providing power during peak loads, and get a little help with your electric bill at the same time. During an outage, you could have a measure of emergency back-up with these batteries. If this resonates with you, we’d be happy to talk to you about how you can effectively and economically make solar power on your own roof that helps you every day, and store it in batteries that can help you have power during an outage, and help PSE during peak loads.
by Andy Cochrane | Oct 28, 2025
PSE’s Flex Program
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is the state’s largest utility and has been showing some innovative thinking in terms of transparency and involving customers in demand response. Demand response is a term that describes altering energy usage to match availability. As we phase out polluting fossil fuels, we will increase electrification and install more renewable energy sources on the grid. Those renewable energy projects will be both utility scale and smaller distributed generation like the solar arrays on our clients’ roofs. There are benefits to everyone that participates in this transition, and there will be some new challenges as well.
PSE is taking advantage of current technology to communicate with their customers to give them the option to participate in several different ways. In the simplest form, PSE texts customers and lets them know there is an incentive to decrease your power consumption at the moment. Customers get paid to enroll in the program and get paid for the savings they can enact during what PSE calls “Flex Events.” Additional aspects of the program can provide rebates and incentives for using “smart” thermostats, EV’s, or even batteries which can be controlled by the utility to shift the timing of demand or to allow PSE to utilize stored energy. Learn more from PSE here https://www.pse.com/en/rebates/PSE-flex
If you are a PSE customer, there is no downside to enrolling in the alerts, so I would certainly say to go ahead with that at least. You can learn more for yourself about the details of the other aspects of the program.
Reasons for the Flex Program
PSE has said they don’t implement the Flex protocols in advance of outages necessarily, but that it is more of a cost savings measure at times when energy is more expensive. Daniel Schrager just had a nice article in The Olympian here (paywall, 24 hour free access for registering) https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article298205253.html
One of the main underlying trends our region is facing is a decline in available hydro power due to declining precipitation and snow packs. There is no doubt we are seeing the climate gradually changing, even if there is still discussion regarding the complexity surrounding the causes of global climate change and the effects we see here in the Pacific NW. The main reason we have been motivated to create Power Trip Energy and to continue encouraging clean local rooftop solar is to mitigate our contribution to CO2 into the atmosphere, while helping our clients save money. Even if one does not think there is conclusive evidence showing correlation between human carbon emissions and decreased snowpack feeding our hydro system, it seems that it makes a lot of sense to err on the side of caution and avoid them as much as possible.
Another dominating trend we will see is a transition to clean renewable energy to provide the additional power we need for electrification of homes and vehicles, and for new energy hungry industries such as the increase in data centers for our information technologies. You will be participating in this change whether you take personal action or not. The question will be whether you pay for someone else to provide that new power, or whether you invest in producing it yourself. If this resonates with you, we’d be happy to talk to you about how you can effectively and economically make solar power on your own roof.
by Andy Cochrane | Jan 14, 2025
Port Angeles Food Bank to go solar with state grant
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by Andy Cochrane | Jul 29, 2024
I recently read about two towns in California that have mandated the installation of grid-tied PV systems on newly constructed homes. This government legislation illustrates to me how far residential solar power has come. Just a couple of decades ago, solar power brought to mind one solar panel powering a flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling of a wood cabin. And now City Councils are insisting upon solar! The passing of these laws leaves me wondering if legally mandating solar installations is a growing trend and what will this mean for the future?
The town of Sebastopol has about the same population as Port Townsend, Washington, around 8000 souls. In 2013, this quirky and decidedly liberal town passed a law requiring solar panels on all new buildings and additions with nearly unanimous support from its City Council. According to a May 10, 2013 article by Miranda Green of The Daily Beast, “Sebastopol’s ordinance orders that the solar systems must provide 2 watts of power per square foot or offset 75 percent of the structure’s electricity use.” So a humble 3.6 KW system would be required on an 1800 sq ft home.
Lancaster, California was the first city in the United States to mandate solar panels on new construction. Photo: Map data ©2016 Google
Unlike Sebastopol, Lancaster, California is largely politically conservative. It has a population of around 150,000, about the same as the Washington State counties of Clallam, Jefferson, and Mason combined. According to Green, Lancaster was the first city in the United States to mandate solar panels on new construction. The city council was unanimous in approving a zoning code amendment requiring housing developers to add solar power systems on all new homes. This new code was initiated by the Republican mayor, R. Rex Parris, who wanted to make Lancaster the “solar capital of the universe.” The satellite photo of Lancaster above shows a segment of a housing development impacted by the legislation.
A Marketplace.org article posted on August 11, 2016, by Jed Kim addresses the question of mandating solar power. According to Kim, “Santa Monica recently approved an ordinance making rooftop solar systems mandatory for all new construction and major renovations.” San Francisco is planning on implementing similar legislation in 2017. Dean Kubani, Santa Monica’s chief sustainability officer, explained that the ordinance was approved to aid the city’s efforts to reduce emissions, “We, like a lot of other cities, are looking at greenhouse gas impacts and carbon impacts, and we’re trying to figure out how can we become carbon neutral.”
In the greentechmedia.com article, What It Really Means to Require Solar Panels on All New Buildings (June 20, 2016), Julian Spector writes, “Other municipalities have already reached out to San Francisco for more information about the policy, including Boston, Washington, D.C., Cambridge and Palo Alto.” Spector concludes, “The endgame will be cities where rooftop solar isn’t a personal challenge for a homeowner, it’s just one of many components expected of a market-ready property.”
It seems clear that mandating solar power is indeed a growing trend. However, I am hesitant to assert that solar power should be mandated for all new construction across the country. All too frequently, legislation that is meant to help people ends up presenting unintended consequences and sometimes does more harm than good. What are the possible unintended consequences of legislating solar installations? How successful are other incentive programs and commercial promotions in encouraging people to adopt solar power? If we wait for the market to come around to solar, will it happen fast enough to mitigate our climate crisis? What do you think? What questions do you have about this topic or other issues with solar power?
Proud new owners of a Power Trip Energy solar array, 2016
by Andy Cochrane | Sep 13, 2016
