Customers of Arizona utility SRP were warned in December that the utility was planning to increase electric rates by 4.9 percent late this spring. This is a scaling back of SRP’s original plan to hike rates by 8.8 percent, a plan derailed by the economy, and should only add about $6 to an average electric bill. Knowing that the utility does have a higher goal in mind, though, how long will it take them to raise rates again? The hike this time around is primarily to fund a new coal-fired power plant in eastern Arizona, replacing a now-defunct plant in Nevada.

Less than $100 per year additional on your electric bill is not such a big deal, big-picture wise. But if you’ve been interested in a solar home in SRP territory, this may be a very good time to do it. Solar installations are expensive; we all know that. Solar rebates and tax credits help offset the cost to the point where the money you save on grid-purchased electricity over the life of the solar array can meet, and then exceed, the remaining (net) cost of the project. This is what we mean by “time to payback” when we talk about solar. A few years ago, it was not unusual to see paybacks of 25 years. Technically, that’s still a perfectly good purchase: all you’re doing in that case is pre-paying for 25 years of clean electricity–you’re just not saving any money. Now, though, competitive states like Arizona can see paybacks of 10 years or less, so that solar is now a good financial investment in addition to a smart energy choice.

When electric rates climb, your solar energy system suddenly starts saving you more money. When solar saves you more money, it decreases time to payback and boosts your ROI. Since electric rate increases are inevitable, why not pursue a solar installation now, when incentives are still very strong, and protect yourself from the rising costs of energy? The SRP solar rebate for residential customers can currently save you as much as $13,500 on the cost of solar. The utility is planning to scale back this incentive level on April 30 of this year–right before the planned rate hike goes into effect, which is scheduled for May. You do the math.