A large portion of the electricity cost is related to infrastructure such as transmission lines and substations. In unlimited liability states like California, things become more frantic since a little spark on a windy day from a well-maintained transmission line or transformer could result in billions (trillions?) of dollars that the customers must pay (the customer always pays). The new normal is that power is just shut off in areas with high winds.
Regions where residences have a lot of solar on the roof do not use much electricity, but the utility needs to pay the huge cost of maintaining the transmission lines, including keeping transmission lines neatly trimmed and clear of brush. As a result, customers are charged more (cost per watt/hour or connection charge) to make up the difference. This has really backfired on solar energy fans (and injured their neighbors). The next step is to go fully off-grid, but this is challenging to do, especially for households which bought electric cars.
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