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“I don’t expect the gas bill to ever exceed $25 again.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A California homeowner says solar and battery storage turned a painful summer utility bill into something almost unrecognizable: a $17 gas charge fully covered by accumulated solar credits.
The claim sparked lively debate online, with some readers calling NEM 3 a bad deal and others saying the outcome shows how much system design and battery sizing can matter.
A Reddit post from a California PG&E customer offered a notably upbeat take on the state’s NEM 3 solar rules. In the Reddit discussion, the homeowner wrote: “My July ’24 bill was $462 including gas. My July ’26 bill was only the $17 gas bill, which was paid with the credit accrued since installing the system.”
The post said the solar setup went in during April, and the homeowner credited part of the savings to running space heaters in winter instead of relying on a gas furnace. They said the solar credits built up since installation have helped keep costs down.
“I don’t expect the gas bill to ever exceed $25 again,” the poster added.
In follow-up comments, the homeowner said the project now looks likely to be “paid off in less than 4 more years” while substantially reducing utility and fuel spending. They also wrote that, after adding an EV and cutting gasoline costs, the combined savings were nearly $700 per month.
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For many Californians, NEM 3 remains contentious because export compensation is typically lower than it was under earlier net-metering programs. As a result, batteries and deliberate timing of household electricity use can play a much bigger role in how much money a system saves.
Reactions in the thread ranged from frustration to optimism.
One commenter wrote, “NEM3 is not even close to reasonable,” but another suggested that storage sizing may be the bigger issue: “It sounds like you need more battery kWh.”
Battery size, utility rate selection, the hours when exported power is sent to the grid, and the degree to which a home uses electricity instead of gas can all shape the outcome.
In the Reddit discussion, the homeowner said the system had been sized for existing demand as well as winter heating and an EV. Other participants likewise argued that having more battery capacity relative to solar production can reduce costly evening imports.
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“I have absolutely nothing to snivel about,” the original poster wrote.
Another commenter with a similar setup said, “Our system seems to be working well on NEM3.”
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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