What is the LCOE of residential solar + battery in the face on increasingly complex utlity rate plans?

Electric utility rate plans are becoming more complex, making it increasingly difficult to calculate the cost of electricity for residential users. This masks the costs and benefits of residential solar and solar + batteries and sends incorrect price signals to consumers. To our knowledge, the impacts of the costs of complex rate plans on the LCOE of solar and batteries for residential consumers has not been calculated and presented. This paper calculates the LCOE for combinations of solar and batteries, including no solar and/or batteries, examining the impact of effects such as time of use and demand charges.The key results are that more complex rate plans show little economic benefit for solar and battery users and continue to exacerbate the problems (commonly referred to as the "duck curve") which is often given as the main roadblock to renewable expansion. These results are primarily due to electricity charges not directly related to overall energy use. There is an increasing component of fixed charges (either solar-related or applicable to all users), such that reducing the electricity usage from the grid with lower-cost solar electricity does not substantially reduce overall LCOE. These fixed charges also substantially increase the LCOE for smaller electrical loads, in some cases nearly doubling it. The second type of electricity charge giving high rates is a demand charge. For demand charges, eliminating every peak is not feasible, such that the charges from the utility are essentially constant. In addition to discouraging the use of solar, these plans negatively impact the utility, as batteries in residential systems have a beneficial impact on both consumers and utilities, enabling reductions in electricity use during early evening by more than 80%.