Rooftop panels, Tesla Powerwalls, Model S allow me to cut cord to utility, slash bills

STORM SAVIOR: In the event of another big event like Superstorm Sandy, my three Powerwalls -- 40-kWh energy storage batteries -- will provide about 5 days backup power for my New Jersey home, Tesla says.

Long road to self-powered home

pays off with tax credits, solar cash

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- I stared at my April utility bill in disbelief.

With 68 solar panels on the roof  charging three newly installed Tesla Powerwalls -- energy storage batteries that run my home overnight -- I had finally zeroed out my electric bill.

"Power from the sun day and night" is how Tesla describes the pairing of panels and Powerwalls.

But Public Service Electric & Gas Co. insisted on billing me $4.95 as a "monthly service charge."

What "service"?

Solar dates to 2009

After installing my first set of 60 solar panels in 2009, I was enrolled in the utility's net-metering program that banked electricity, as measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), when my generating system produced more than our needs.

PSE&G lists them on the monthly bill: 

As of May 7, 308 kWh were delivered to me, but we generated a total of 484 kWh sent to the utility for a difference of -176 kWh.

That includes the electricity needed to charge my 2015 Tesla Model S overnight in my garage every few days.

Those kilowatt-hours are available to me, if my solar panels and storage batteries don't generate enough electricity to run my 3,300-square-foot home with central air conditioning and a heat pump that drove up my electricity bill in December, January and February.

$3.44 for electricity

In the previous billing period (ending on April 5), I paid $3.44 for my net usage -- 86 kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered to me -- plus the $4.95 monthly service charge, for a total of $8.39.

Tesla techs were delayed by March weather and didn't complete the wiring until three days into the billing period.

Before my Powerwalls were installed, my solar panels generated more than enough electricity to run my home during 5 months of the year, roughly April through August.

Now, that should be the case year-round. 

Before Powerwalls

My electric bill for Jan. 8 to Feb. 5 was $366, including the cost of "delivering electricity to you;" and for Feb. 6 to March 7, I paid $221.05 for electricity.

For the billing period of Dec. 5, 2018, to Jan. 7, total electric charges were $323.29.

I blame an electricity sucking heat pump I had installed to supplement an inadequate radiant-heating system the previous owner, a Realtor,  saddled me with.

SOUTHERN EXPOSURE: One of the deciding factors in the purchase of my home was a southern exposure ideal for the installation of solar panels.

Cutting the cord

The process of cutting the electrical cord to my utility has been long, but there was a time in New Jersey when there were limits on how many solar panels you could install (lest everyone decided to go solar and put the utility out of the electricity business). 

And when the grid goes down, as happened during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, my solar panels were "knocked out," so to speak, and didn't generate electricity to keep my home running in the 5 days before power was restored. 

Storage batteries were forbidden.

The inspector sent to look at my Powerwall installation in April said they were the first such energy storage batteries in Hackensack, a small city of about 45,000 people.

I paid for the 3 Powerwalls with a fixed-rate home equity loan of about $20,000, repayable over 5 years.

Each Powerwall 2 cost $5,500, and the rest of the cost -- a total of $20,739 -- was for installation and permits.

Rebate, loan

First Light Energy installed my first set of 50 200-watt panels in 2009 -- when the maximum allowed was 10,000 watts -- under a New Jersey rebate program. (The state paid $35,000 and I paid $45,500.)

In the years since, I've earned federal tax credits and sold tax-free solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) to the utility that have more than reimbursed my investment, not to mention the savings from lower utility bills.

You get one SREC for every 1,000 watts your system generates, so I can sell about a dozen to my utility every year.

In 2012, First Light Energy installed 18 more solar panels, these rated at 240 watts each, after I got a solar loan from my utility that required me to put up about half of the cost.

That loan of roughly $11,000 is being repaid with more solar renewable energy credits, which PSE&G values at $400 each, even though their worth on the open market has fallen to almost half of that. 

SELF-POWERED HOME: My Tesla App allows me use my smartphone to monitor my 3 Powerwalls as well as my 2015 Model S. Selecting "Power Flow" shows me when my solar panels are charging the Powerwalls, running the house or sending energy to the grid. My neighborhood experienced two 5-minute outages on May 12, but I never lost power.

Best and worst of Tesla: Get 3 Powerwalls installed day after botched Model S service

My 2015 Tesla Model S 60 was returned to me covered with the same winter grime it had before I took it to the Paramus service center on Thursday, above and below, even though my annual service ($600 prepaid) is supposed to include a car wash and interior vacuuming.

A service advisor apparently overruled the service manager, who sent me a text saying, yes, I could leave my car in the service center overnight for a complete detailing and keep my Tesla Model S loaner until the next day.

 My EV has been trouble free,

but I get treated like chopped liver

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK -- Nearly 4 years after I bought the greatest car I have ever owned, I had the worst service experience ever.

I made an April 8 appointment for the annual service on my all-electric Tesla Model S, but last Wednesday received a call that I should bring in the car the very next day to change a defective Takata airbag (which I didn't even know I had).

I explained to Jose Solis, the service advisor, that I had scheduled an exterior and interior detailing with Always Clean, a mobile auto-grooming service that is given access to owners' cars in the Tesla service center on Route 17 in Paramus.

No problem, Jose said: 

Bring the car in at 11:15 a.m. and Always Clean will do their thing, Tesla will service my Model S and change the airbag, and then the detailers will touch up the car.

Mixed messages

But the plan fell apart the next day -- Jose's day off --when another service employee said the detailing had to be performed after the service, not before.

That same employee, who didn't give me his name, walked me outside for the loaner, which I drove home.

Then, I got text updates, including one from Ariana, the service manager, who said:

"Repairs are complete! We will hold your car indoors until Felix [of Always Clean] arrives to complete the detail."

'Pick up your car'

Later, I got a call from another employee that my service was completed without changing the airbag, because the new parts weren't in stock. 

And, no, I couldn't leave my car there for the detailing; I was told it would be washed and vacuumed and to pick it up at 5 p.m.

While I waited in the lounge, I spoke to a customer who was there to have a few fit-and-finish flaws on his new Model 3 repaired.

In fact, he said that one of the windshield wipers was hitting the hood and had chipped the paint.

Tesla in a tizzy

The Paramus sales and service center has become much busier since the introduction of the more affordable Model 3 last year, and that may be the reason service has deteriorated for all Tesla owners.

Then, I was called into the service center, paid for a four-wheel brake cleaning and was told my Model S was at the bottom of the ramp.

When I saw it was still as dirty as when I brought it in that morning, I protested, but the service advisor said the car wasn't washed because I would be taking it for a car wash and detailing at Always Clean's Fair Lawn garage.

Powerwall 2 installation

From home, I sent texts to Ariana, the service manager, asking her to call me, but never heard from her.

On Friday, the day my three Powerwalls (storage batteries) were installed at my home by Tesla Energy techs, I received an email from Jose Solis, the service advisor in Paramus I dealt with originally, apologizing for the mixup.

He offered a free car wash at 9 this morning, but I decided against it when I saw all of the snow that had fallen overnight.

Tesla Energy techs were delayed by Friday morning's snowy weather, and were unable to complete the wiring for my three Powerwalls, which will provide full backup for at least 5 days in the event we have another superstorm that knocks out power to our home. Otherwise, I can use the energy overnight or when cloudy or stormy weather limits how much electricity my solar panels generate.

The Powerwall 2 is so heavy, Tesla Energy employees had to back their van into our driveway and use a large hand truck to move the storage batteries to the work area, above and below.

Two of the three Powerwalls that were installed on Friday. Each battery is rated at 40kWh, meaning I have 120kWh on the wall of my house -- twice as much as in my Tesla Model S with a 60 kWh battery.

Former Trump campaign chief is indicted in probe of Russian meddling in election

To emphasize President Trump's insensitive comments to the widow of a black soldier killed in Niger, political cartoonists Marian Kamensky, above, and Steve Benson, below, invoke the image of Trump tossing paper towels to storm victims in Puerto Rico.

Many more cartoons can be found at Cagle.com, a website that relies on contributions from the public.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

UPDATE: President Trump's ex-campaign chief, Paul Manafort, and his former business associate were indicted today. And a Trump aide, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with a Russian professor who said Moscow had thousands of emails with "dirt"on Hillary Clinton.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

No major news outlets, including The New York Times and Washington Post, have been able to add details to a CNN report that a grand jury has "approved the first charges" in the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 Russian election.

On Friday night, CNN claimed an exclusive, reporting "the charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge."

"Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as today, the sources said.

"It is unclear what the charges are," CNN said of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Could this first indictment mark the beginning of the end for Trump, who was elected nearly a year ago, when millions of Democrats sat out the election?

All he has accomplished so far is dismantling many of the health and environmental achievements of former President Barack Obama.

Residents of Clinton Place in Hackensack go all out in the weeks before Halloween, above and below, drawing hundreds of visitors from near and far.

Most of the decorated homes are on Clinton Place between Summit and Prospect avenues.

The Record

On Saturday, my so-called local daily newspaper, The Record of Woodland Park, ran a Page 1 story from USA Today on CNN's report, but there was no follow up on Sunday.

Instead, most of Page 1 was devoted to the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. One sub-headline said:

"The Garden State is still storm proofing its vulnerable infrastructure"

In nearly five full pages of coverage, there was no blame placed on the Christie administration for bungling the recovery from Sandy (1A, 5A-6A, 8A-10A).

And a front-page column by Mike Kelly defended wealthy Margate residents who fought the construction of protective dunes that block their beachfront views of the Atlantic Ocean (1A).

NJ Transit

Also on Page 1, The Record reported NJ Transit's rail ridership declined 3 percent last year, echoing declines in public transit ridership in almost every major urban area.

"According to the American Public Transportation Association, U.S. transit ridership fell 2.88 percent in the first six months of 2017, almost identical to the 2.9 percent annual decline at NJ Transit," Staff Writer Curtis Tate said on 10A.

Tate reported low gas prices have lured many commuters back to their cars.

But The Record has never reported on the lack of rush-hour seats on NJ Transit trains and buses, or written about growing traffic congestion and air pollution at the Hudson River crossings, where toll-booth waits of an hour or more are commonplace.

Christie helped cripple NJ Transit by cutting state subsidies to the agency by more than 90%.

Endorsing Murphy

On Sunday, The Record's Editorial Board endorsed Democrat Phil Murphy for governor in the Nov. 7 election.

"Murphy promises a more progressive, inclusive agenda than [Republican Lt. Gov. Kim] Guadagno," an editorial on 2O stated.

"Guadagno ... has moved further to the right, abandoning her centrist roots during these last weeks of the campaign," according to the editorial.

Defense of Christie

Sadly, The Record mentioned that it endorsed Governor Christie in 2013, when the GOP bully won a second term.

His re-election came just two months after his aides and a crony at the Port Authority secretly ordered the closure of access lanes to the George Washington, causing five mornings of traffic chaos in Fort Lee. 

The editorial claimed Christie "during his first term" showed "an ability to forge deals with Democrats who controlled the Legislature."

But, of course, The Record forgets  Christie used hundreds of vetoes and the threat of more vetoes to achieve his deals.

And Sunday's editorial shocked readers by mentioning Christie's "stalwart defense of Muslims living in New Jersey," without providing any context.

That ignores he tried to ban all Syrian refugees from coming to New Jersey and the rest of the United States after the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015, a few months before he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump.

Pedestrian deaths

A column on Sunday's Local front raised an alarm over the 166 pedestrians killed crossing New Jersey "roads" last year (L-1).

But for some reason, Staff Writer John Cichowski pads the column with 10 or 11 paragraphs (8L) on a Ridgewood woman who was severely bitten on her arm by a small dog "upon leaving Saddle River County Park" (he doesn't say whether she was driving or walking out of the park or whether the dog walker was in a crosswalk).

Most of the rest of the column discusses crackdowns in Hackensack and Paterson on jaywalking pedestrians, and drivers who violate state law by refusing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

The headline over this rambling piece:

"The price we pay for

darkness, deer and dogs"

Eating Out: At Seafood Gourmet, gagging on iceberg lettuce and overcooked halibut

LOOKS GREAT, BUT .... Lightly seasoned char-grilled halibut and wild shrimp served over a salad with fruit ($26) was one of the imaginative dinner specials on Saturday at Seafood Gourmet in Maywood. The menu said the seafood would be served over a "mixed green salad," but most of it was nutritionally bankrupt iceberg lettuce.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

When you have a disappointing meal at one of your favorite restaurants, the heartburn is especially intense.

That's the way I felt after a celebratory pre-Father's Day meal at Seafood Gourmet, the fish market/restaurant in Maywood where the fresh fish you see in the refrigerated case usually lands on the menu.

OK. I didn't get heartburn from the meal, but in what has become a pattern, my fish and wild shrimp were overcooked -- short of drying out, but not ideal.

And I was completely turned off by all of the cheap iceberg lettuce in my seafood-and-salad entree and the salad my wife got with her Broiled Crab Cakes ($22). 

Iceberg is only good for a restaurant's bottom line: It's 95 percent water, and has absolutely no nutritional benefit.

For my birthday last November, I splurged on a 2.5-pound lobster ($48+), and although I wanted the crustacean steamed, the kitchen broiled it, judging from scorching on the claws, and it was overcooked.

I also recall a takeout order of wild King Salmon fillet, which was cooked through instead of medium, as I requested.

Great meals

Looking back on meals I've enjoyed at Seafood Gourmet dating to 2010, all this overcooking is disappointing.

The no-frills dining room has only about 40 seats, but when they are full, the kitchen doesn't seem to be able to handle orders properly.

Here are links to previous meals:

Great seafood after Superstorm Sandy

When I splurged on a 2.5-pound lobster ...

A great lunch at Seafood Gourmet

My mother-in-law enjoyed another dinner special, Seared Wild Salmon, finished with a Carrot-Ginger Sauce and served with Jasmine Rice and Bok Choy ($25). A cup of Lobster Bisque was included.

My wife loved her Broiled Crab Cakes, served with soup or salad, vegetables and potato ($22). Still, she choose the house salad, and was turned off by too much iceberg lettuce, too.

With my halibut-and-shrimp entree, I got a cup of the Montauk Seafood Chowder, which lived up to its name with tender calamari, scallop and shrimp in a light tomato broth. We also enjoyed a side dish of sauteed spinach ($5).

The Dinner Specials on Saturday at Seafood Gourmet.

A working fish market in front ...

... and a BYO dining room with about 40 seats in back.

Details

The Restaurant at Seafood Gourmet, 103 W. Pleasant Ave., Maywood; 201-843-8558. Closed Sundays.

BYO, free street parking, reservations highly recommended on weekends.

Website: Right off the boat