So I called my electric co to pay my bill and.....

[Brian37]

No that is not what I am saying. I don't know where you live, but many county electric companies have monopolies and while some have created solar farms, they don't want to lose their markets and in many places in America it is illegal to live off of the grid.

If they make it legal to own your own solar panel no, in that case you would not have to pay a bill.

I don't want power companies having monopolies by forcing people to use a solar farm. I want individuals to have their own.

I live across the mountains from you in east Tennessee, TVA is our major power producer. In my area KUB is the major electrical supplier, though there are others but each must stay within a designated area. We can use several different things to supply our own electrical and if we produce more than we can use then the local supplier has to pay for the use of the power, the meters will run backwards when the grid uses power we generate reducing our bills. Most people here do not try to do this, they use the alternatives to reduce their bills. I use geothermal heating and cooling to reduce mine and it also gives me better comfort with far less cost during the extremes of temperatures.

I can tell you a way to reduce your electrical bills by using solar but not with panels, mostly a summer benefit, if your interested. No electrical generation required. I assume your provider is Duke Power and if so surprised to here they are not more progressive. TVA finds it useful for them during peak power consumption times when we do things to reduce electrical consumption and/or generate some of our power.

GC

I am not worried about me. I have the same worry about any big biz, monopolies. My bills are not right now outrageous. But there are plenty of workers in the middle class and the working poor who get screwed by cost of living. 

In Michigan for example big stadiums and arenas for a while were getting away with not paying their water bill but poor individuals were getting cut off.