Phil they have plans for solar panels now. You dont have to spend 30 gs
D you REALLY need to do A LOT of research. It costs about $4 to $6 per watt to have a solar system installed. Thats if the roof and substructure is able to support the panels without additional work being needed first. To offset most or all of the electricity bill the average household needs a system with at least 5 to 6 kilowatts. That's about $20,000 to $36,000, not including batteries, which can add another 20 percent. The cost of maintenance on those batteries isn't even figured in. Even the best flooded cells which can handle the repeated charging discharging is VERY HIGH. Not to mention the average life span is 3-5 years along with the critical mainteneance needed. In a home you usually see sealed batteries so that little to no venting of the area they are stored in is needed. These have a shorter lifespan and can take up a lot of room. The federal tax credit, good through 2016, is a 30 percent of the purchase price with no limit. If your solar panels cost $25,000, you?re eligible for a tax credit of $7,500. if your AVG monthly bill is $220 than you're looking at roughly 11 years for the payback. To efficiently power a home on LI with solar it's a 8-10 year time to recoup cost outlay depending on your useage. I as well as 3 guys I work with have looked into it.
On another note:
"For March, the power supply charge will jump to 12.3 cents a kilowatt hour, PSEG said, from 11.6 cents in February. The charge was at a 12-month low of 7 cents in October but has risen each month since. Last year, it fell every month between March and June. PSEG Long Island, which operates the system under contract to LIPA, says the hikes are tied to soaring natural gas prices. In addition, LIPA reported on Wednesday that it exceeded its budget for fuel and purchased power in January by more than $60 million year to date, an amount that must be recovered in future months."
As for the rate cap that was promised it has happened. The problem is The freeze applied to the delivery charge portion of bills, which rarely fluctuated over LIPA's 15-year history. The freeze is on the wrong rate"
