OG&E Battery Sales Reference

Oklahoma City Metro & Central/Western Oklahoma · Q3 2026 · Internal Use Only

Your solar interconnection forced you onto the widest mandatory time-of-use spread we've documented at any utility in the country — and the battery is the only thing that fixes it. This guide gives you the structure, the math, the objection answers, and the rules to sell it honestly.

What kind of market this is

• Their solar interconnection forced them onto a 27.5-cent peak rate they never chose → the battery covers the exact 2–7 PM window that rate punishes
• Their exports earn wholesale pennies while they buy back at 27.5 cents an hour later → the battery converts penny exports into full-price avoided purchases
• Their rates climb between rate cases and today's netting rules aren't guaranteed forever → self-consumption is the one thing the utility can't reprice — the battery shrinks the kWh every current and future rule applies to
• Nobody's standing behind their system → Top Tier takes it over: fresh 10-year workmanship warranty after inspection, Align Solar Protection standard, one number to call

PART A — The Pitch (Problem → Solution → Urgency → Close)

The pitch follows four beats — Problem, Solution, Urgency, Close — each with a customer-facing layer and a rep layer. Master the rep layers; they're the difference between reading a script and owning the room.

The Problem

Your rate changed the day you went solar — and it's built around your system's weakest hours. OG&E's net energy billing rules (NEBO) require every solar customer onto the SmartHours Fixed time-of-use rate: 27.50 cents per kWh on summer weekday afternoons from 2 to 7 PM, 3.60 cents every other summer hour. A 7.6-to-1 gap, by rule, not by choice — the widest forced spread we've documented at any utility in the country. And solar production peaks at midday, then rolls off through the late afternoon while the expensive window runs to 7 PM, through dinner, AC recovery, and everyone arriving home.

Rep layer: Most customers don't know this happened to them. Ask to see a summer bill and point at the on-peak line — you are usually the first person to ever explain their own rate to them. Then draw the two curves: production falling, price spiking. The gap from roughly 4 to 7 PM is the problem the battery solves. That moment of "wait, WHAT am I paying between 2 and 7?" builds more trust than any brochure.

Your extra power leaves at pennies and comes back at 27 and a half cents. Monthly overproduction isn't banked at retail — it's credited at OG&E's avoided energy cost, a wholesale market rate that has historically run in the low single digits per kWh. The system they bought to beat the utility is selling low at noon and buying high at six, every summer weekday, by rule.

Rep layer: If their bill shows a NEBO credit line, divide the dollars by the kWh right in front of them. The cents-per-kWh number they compute themselves lands harder than any number you say. This is also why "just add more panels" fails here — more panels manufacture more penny exports.

Your rates keep climbing, and today's netting rules aren't guaranteed forever. The fuel cost adjustment rider resets twice a year from OG&E's actual fuel and purchased-power costs — no rate case needed — and grid-hardening spend after repeated ice and wind catastrophes plus new generation investment keeps flowing into rates. Meanwhile, Oklahoma's current netting framework — full retail offset up to your consumption each month — is exactly the kind of arrangement being rewritten state by state across the country. And unlike some states, Oklahoma offers no grandfather protection — when rules change here, they change for everyone, including existing solar customers.

Rep layer: Two clocks, both honest. The fuel rider is the structural rate-climb story — it moves twice a year without anyone voting on it. The honest frame: there is no protected position to win by timing — which is exactly why the battery matters. Rules can be repriced; stored self-consumption can't. Never promise locked terms.

Nobody's standing behind your system. Oklahoma's solar boom produced installers that didn't survive the post-ITC shakeout. An orphaned customer has an expired or unenforceable workmanship warranty, an aging inverter approaching its failure window, and no one to call when it dies or a roof penetration leaks.

Rep layer: Plants the takeover seed — you pick it up in the solution. Ask who installed their system and whether they've ever gotten a callback. The silence is the pitch.

The Solution

The battery moves your own midday solar into the expensive window. Every kWh it shifts avoids a 27.5-cent purchase and costs only the few cents that kWh would have earned as an export. Nothing else in the home can do this — more panels just make more cheap exports, habit changes don't move dinner and AC to 9 PM, and NEBO doesn't allow a different rate plan.

Rep layer: "Same panels, same house — the battery moves your own power five hours to the right." That's the whole mechanism in one sentence. For big-array customers with fat NEBO credits and thin returns, this beat is the entire pitch — their disappointment is the setup.

The battery keeps your home running when the grid fails. October 2020: 400,000+ OG&E customers out in the largest restoration event in company history, some homes dark 10+ days. May 2013 Moore tornado. The May 2024 outbreak. The June 2026 derecho — 83,000+ out, weeks ago. Grid-tied solar shuts off for safety during every one of those outages; solar plus a battery carries refrigeration, well pumps, medical equipment, and heat or AC controls through the restoration.

Rep layer: In this metro you don't need to sell the storm — they lived it. Ask where they were in October 2020 and listen. Most solar customers have never been told their panels won't run in a blackout; let that land before you fix it.

Your own stored power is the one thing the rules can't reprice. Rates climb by rider and rate case, and the netting rules themselves can be revised — for everyone, existing customers included. A home that stores and self-consumes its own production through the peak window has shrunk the surface area that any future rule or rate change can touch. That's not a locked-in position; it's better — it's independence from the position entirely.

Rep layer: We never claim terms are locked in — Oklahoma has no grandfathering to promise. The pitch is ownership: every kWh the battery moves is a kWh no future Commission order can reprice.

We take it over and stand behind it. Top Tier becomes the single point of contact: a fresh 10-year workmanship and roof-penetration warranty issued at takeover (after inspection), the 5-year Align Solar Protection service contract included standard on every deal ($0 deductible, insurance-backed, non-transferable), and manufacturer-warranty coordination going forward. For an orphaned customer staring at a 25-year asset with no service path, this is real money independent of every other pillar.

Rep layer: Be precise on transfers — workmanship with written consent, Align non-transferable, manufacturer per OEM terms. Never say "everything transfers." And never promise takeover before the inspection clears.

Urgency

The summer clock. The 2–7 PM window exists roughly 86 weekdays a year, June through September. A system installed after peak season waits nine months to start earning its arbitrage — every summer without storage is a summer the spread works against them.

The rate clock. The fuel rider resets twice a year and rate cases keep coming; grid-hardening and new-generation spend all lands in rates. Today's tariff is the cheapest version of this problem the customer will ever have.

The rules clock. Oklahoma's netting framework can be revised by Commission order, and there is no grandfather protection — changes here reach existing customers too. That cuts both ways honestly: no deadline to race, and no protected position to wait for. The battery is the hedge that works under today's rules and any future version of them.

The storm clock. Ice in winter, derechos and tornadoes spring through summer — June 2026 is fresh memory. Resilience installed after the outage protects the next one, not the last one.

What we never do: invent a deadline. There is no expiring rebate in Oklahoma and we don't manufacture one. "There's nothing to wait for" is the true version of urgency here — nothing pending makes this purchase better later, and several real clocks make it worse.

The Close

Step 1 — Their bill, their rate. Pull a summer bill. Show the on-peak line at 27.5 cents and the off-peak line at 3.6. "You didn't pick this rate — it came with your solar. And your panels are weakest exactly when this rate is highest."

Step 2 — The two arrows. "Your extra power leaves at pennies. Your evening power comes back at 27 and a half cents. The battery reverses both arrows at once — and it's the only thing that can, because OG&E's rules don't let you change rates and more panels only make more pennies."

Step 3 — The stack, honestly. "The shifting saves a few hundred dollars a year — I'll show you the exact math, summer weekdays only, and I'd rather you check it than take my word. On top of that: your house runs through the next ice storm, every future rate increase hits fewer of your hours, your stored power stays yours no matter how the rules move, and someone finally stands behind your system — with a fresh 10-year workmanship warranty and a 5-year protection contract on the solar included standard. That's the purchase."

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER quote a bill-reduction factor as a guarantee.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K–$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.
• ❌ NEVER promise takeover before inspection. Top Tier can decline non-compliant systems with written notice within 7 days.
• ❌ NEVER quote a dollar export rate. OG&E's avoided energy cost is derived from SPP wholesale market prices and changes monthly. Say "a market rate that has historically run in the low single digits" — never a fixed number.
• ❌ NEVER promise a $0 bill. The minimum residual is the $13.00 customer charge plus the $0.32 state assessment fee — about $13.32/month — and most homes sit above it. Our projections show a residual bill.
• ❌ NEVER pitch VPP income. OG&E has no residential battery VPP and no battery program. Zero dollars in the savings stack. If one ever launches, that's upside we never promised.
• ❌ NEVER claim state or federal incentives. Oklahoma has no state solar or battery incentive, and the federal ITC expired December 31, 2025. The economics stand on their own — say so plainly.
• ❌ NEVER quote winter arbitrage savings. Winter rates are 6.90/4.45 cents with no time-of-use spread. The arbitrage story is a summer story, and we say that out loud.
• ❌ NEVER discuss panel additions past the 125% cap without checking headroom. NEBO caps generating capacity at 125% of the customer's trailing-12-month peak load; oversized systems get defaulted to the QF tariff and lose NEBO billing entirely.
• ❌ NEVER promise locked or grandfathered terms. Oklahoma has no grandfather protection — NEBO can be revised for everyone, existing customers included. The honest pitch is the hedge: stored self-consumption is what the utility can't reprice. And never predict a change — none is pending that we can cite.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call. Do right by the customer, protect the company, be honest.

PART B — The Deep Reference

1. Orientation

• Utility: Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) — Oklahoma City metro and central/western Oklahoma, ~880,000 customers, OCC-regulated investor-owned utility.
• Market type: Rate-plan-aware TOU-lever — the only kind of market where the utility itself mandates the rate that makes the battery valuable. Every solar customer is on SmartHours Fixed (R-TOU) by rule under NEBO.
• Default config: backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228); self-consumption ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. How the OG&E Bill Works

SmartHours Fixed (R-TOU) — the rate every OG&E solar customer is on:

A fuel cost adjustment rider rides on every kWh (separate on-peak, off-peak, and winter components), set semi-annually from OG&E's actual fuel and purchased-power costs. It adds more on-peak than off-peak by design, so the true all-in spread is somewhat wider than the base figure — we quote the base as the floor. First-year SmartHours enrollees carry a Best Bill Guarantee against their prior rate, and customers 65+ get a $10/mo summer, $5/mo winter senior discount — OG&E programs, not ours; mention only if asked, never as a savings pillar.

R-1 (the rate they left): $13.00/mo; 8.00¢ flat summer (Jun–Oct); 5.80¢ flat winter. Use it for the "what changed when you went solar" conversation — solar changed the shape of their pricing, not just their usage.

3. NEBO Mechanics — the Rules of the Game

• DG customers must take their standard TOU rate schedule; SmartHours Daily (variable pricing), Flex, and RTP are excluded.
• Netting is monthly and TOU-period-aware: consumption bills at the period's TOU price; monthly excess is credited in dollars at the on-peak or off-peak avoided energy cost matching when it was produced.
• Avoided energy cost = SPP day-ahead market average, 30-day rolling. Market-derived, changes monthly, no fixed value exists.
• State framework: retail netting up to consumption with avoided-cost purchase of excess, participation up to 300 kW, sizing to expected on-site use (OCC rules, 17 O.S. § 156 / OAC 165:40:9).
• Eligibility: capacity ≤ 125% of trailing-12-month peak load and ≤ 300 kW. Over the cap → defaulted to the QF tariff (materially worse). Peak load can be redetermined after load or system changes.
• No DG-specific monthly fee exists — if a customer heard about a "$2 solar fee," it is not in the tariff.
• NEBO customers cannot simultaneously take any other generation tariff, including OG&E's community solar subscription.

4. Rate Reality + The Honest Math

Three structural drivers, all recovered from ratepayers: fuel and purchased-power pass-throughs (natural gas exposure, reset semi-annually through the FCA with no rate case required), grid hardening after repeated ice and wind catastrophes, and new generation investment. The battery doesn't stop any of it — it shrinks the number of expensive kWh the increases apply to, which is the honest version of rate protection.

• Peak window: ~86 weekdays/year × 5 hours. Winter arbitrage: $0.
• A typical backup battery shifting ~12 usable kWh per peak day at ~23.5¢ net value (27.5¢ avoided minus ~4¢ forgone export) ≈ $240/year, on the base-rate floor; the fuel rider makes the true figure somewhat higher.
• Typical current bill ~$45/mo for a solar customer on R-TOU; typical post-battery residual ~$25/mo against the $13.32 floor. Customer-facing materials use range framing ("customers with similar systems typically see...").
• The arbitrage alone doesn't pay for the battery. Arbitrage + resilience + rate-and-rules positioning + system rescue is the purchase. This framing survives the customer's own math at the kitchen table — which is the point.

5. Incentives & Programs — the Straight Talk

Oklahoma is a VPP desert: no OG&E residential battery VPP, no battery rebate, no PSO program either, and no Tesla, Enphase, SolarEdge, or FranklinWH VPP operating anywhere in the state. No Oklahoma state solar or battery incentive exists, and the federal ITC expired 12/31/2025. Sales tax applies to the purchase; the solar system's added value is property-tax exempt.

Reps must know this cold because customers read about VPP checks in Texas and rebates elsewhere. The honest answer doubles as the strong answer: nothing in our projection depends on a program that can be cancelled, defunded, or waitlisted — every dollar comes from a tariff structure the customer is already on. If a VPP or battery program ever launches in this territory, enrolled hardware is ready for it, and it's upside we never priced in or promised.

6. System Rescue Value — The System Takeover

This applies to any customer with existing solar — and it's identical across every Top Tier market. These are takeover facts, not market-specific.

The Orphaned Solar Customer Problem. Many solar customers installed during the 2019–2024 growth years and now face:

• An original installer that's gone out of business, been acquired, or stopped servicing residential (especially common after the federal tax credit expired Dec 2025)
• A 10-year workmanship warranty that's unenforceable (installer is gone)
• An inverter approaching or past typical failure windows
• No service relationship, and most companies refuse to service systems they didn't install

The Inverter Failure Reality. Inverters are the weakest link. Panels last 25–30 years; the inverter fails much sooner.

• SolarEdge string inverters: 8–15 years (12-yr standard warranty)
• Enphase microinverters: 10–20 years (25-yr warranty)
• Industry-wide: 70–90% of systems experience inverter failure within the panel lifespan
• When it fails on an orphaned system: production stops, bills jump to full retail, most providers won't quote it, out-of-pocket replacement is $3,500–5,000, and the customer is down 4–8 weeks.

What Top Tier's takeover provides (formalized through a Service Warranty Agreement with a brand-new 10-year Limited Workmanship and Roof Penetration Warranty):

• A new 10-year Top Tier workmanship warranty (regardless of system age)
• Manufacturer warranty claim handling (Top Tier chases the claim + labor, not the customer)
• Inverter replacement coverage when it fails within manufacturer warranty (customer pays nothing for the work)
• Single point of contact; monitoring setup help; performance verification at inspection

The $11K System Takeover Bundle (the exact 5-tile bundle on the proposal):

How to use it: "On top of the bill math, you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty handling alone is worth a few hundred; the replacement coordination saves $3–5K; the Align contract is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay. It adds up."

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

Quantifying the rescue value:

This is independent of bill savings — the rescue alone can be worth $4,000–7,500.

7. Outage Reality — Oklahoma's Storm Calendar

October 2020 ice storm: 400,000+ OG&E customers out, restorations running 10+ days — the largest restoration event in OG&E history. May 2013 Moore EF5 tornado: 41,000 out. May 2024 tornado outbreak: 46,000 out. June 2026 derecho: 83,000+ out, weeks-fresh memory. Grid-tied solar shuts off for safety in every one of these — panels on the roof, no power in the house. Solar plus battery carries refrigeration, well pumps, medical equipment, and heat or AC controls through the restoration, and unlike a generator it refuels itself from the roof every morning of a multi-day event.

8. Hidden Costs Avoided / What You Own vs What You Rent

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

9. Battery Products

• Backup config (the point — this is a storm state): Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh; Redline: $20,500), FranklinWH aPower 2 (15 kWh; Redline: $20,500). Not compatible with HDM.

• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh; Redline: $15,500 SC / $17,600 BU), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable; Redline: $14,500 SC / $16,000 BU), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training; Redline: $15,500 SC).

• OG&E takeaway: no VPP routes any hardware in Oklahoma — selection is purely about backup depth for ice, tornado, and derecho events, said plainly. Under mandatory TOU the sizing conversation is spread-capture-driven in summer and resilience-driven year-round. Confirm config in the tool.

• Financing terms vary by lender — price deals through the proposal tool.

10. Objection Handling

"My solar already covers my bill."

"Let's look at a July bill together. See the on-peak line? That's 2 to 7 PM at 27 and a half cents, when your panels are fading — and your extra midday power earned pennies. Your system is good; the rate it's forced onto is designed around its weak hours. The battery covers exactly those hours."

"I'll just wait for better incentives."

"There's nothing to wait for — Oklahoma has no state program and the federal credit ended last year. The savings come from the rate you're already on, today. And the billing rules here aren't locked for anyone — they can change for existing customers too, which is an argument for owning your power, not for waiting. It just means more summers buying 27-cent power."

"Why not just add more panels?"

"More panels make more midday power, and midday power earns pennies once it exceeds your use. There's also a sizing cap — past 125% of your peak demand, OG&E moves you to a worse billing arrangement entirely. Storage turns the panels you have into peak-hour power; if we add panels, we size them with the battery and inside the cap."

"A generator is cheaper for outages."

"For outages alone, maybe — but a generator sits idle 99% of the year, needs fuel during exactly the emergencies when fuel is scarce, and never lowers a bill. The battery works every summer weekday and then carries you through the outage, silently, on power your roof already made."

"How much will I actually save?"

"I'll show you the real number, not a brochure number. The peak window only exists on summer weekdays, so the shifting savings are a few hundred dollars a year — here's the calculation. On top of that: outage protection, protection from rate increases on the hours that matter, your stored power staying yours no matter how the rules move, and someone finally stands behind your system — with a fresh 10-year workmanship warranty and a 5-year protection contract on the solar included standard. That's the purchase."

"My installer said they'd always be there."

"When was the last time they called you back? If they're still around, great — keep their number. If they're not, you have a 25-year asset with no service path, and most companies won't touch another installer's work. We will — we inspect it, take it over, and put a new 10-year workmanship warranty behind it."

11. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

12. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings projections are estimates based on current OG&E tariff rates, which change over time; the time-of-use arbitrage benefit applies primarily to summer weekdays.
2. ☐ Excess energy is credited at OG&E's avoided energy cost, a market-based rate that varies monthly; no fixed export rate is guaranteed.
3. ☐ The minimum monthly bill (customer charge plus applicable fees, approx. $13.32) cannot be eliminated by solar or battery.
4. ☐ No utility, state, or federal battery incentive or VPP program currently exists in this territory; none is assumed in projections.
5. ☐ Current net metering rules are subject to change by regulators and the utility; no future policy outcome, favorable or unfavorable, is guaranteed.
6. ☐ System sizing is subject to OG&E's NEBO eligibility rules, including a cap of 125% of the customer's peak load; exceeding it changes the billing arrangement.
7. ☐ System takeover is contingent on passing Top Tier's site inspection; Top Tier may decline non-compliant systems with written notice within 7 days.
8. ☐ The Align Solar Protection contract is non-transferable and does not extend original equipment manufacturers' warranties. Workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent.
9. ☐ Backup power capability depends on selected equipment and configuration; not all home loads may be backed up simultaneously.
10. ☐ Fuel cost adjustment charges are set by OG&E semi-annually and are additional to the base rates shown.

13. Quick-Reference Numbers (dated — confirm before quoting)

• THE REGISTER: RATE-PLAN-AWARE TOU-LEVER — NEBO mandates SmartHours Fixed; battery captures the 2–7 PM peak spread; summer weekdays only; winter arbitrage $0
• R-TOU summer: 27.50¢ on-peak (2–7 PM weekdays Jun 1–Sep 30) / 3.60¢ off-peak. Winter: 6.90¢ first 600 kWh / 4.45¢ after. Customer charge $13.00 + $0.32 APUAF; bill floor $13.32/mo. Base spread 23.90¢ (7.6:1) — quote as the floor; the fuel rider widens it.
• Peak days ~86/year; winter arbitrage $0. Battery arbitrage ~$240/yr at ~12 kWh shifted per peak day.
• Typical solar customer bill ~$45/mo; typical post-battery residual ~$25/mo.
• Exports: avoided cost, market-derived, historically low single digits — never quote a fixed number.
• Caps: 125% of trailing-12-month peak load; 300 kW; over the cap defaults to QF tariff.
• Incentives: none — no VPP, no state program, no ITC (expired 12/31/2025). Sales tax applies; property-tax exempt.
• System rescue expected value: $4,000–7,500+.
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000

14. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

Oklahoma is a zero-incentive market, and that is the pitch's strength, not its weakness. Nothing here depends on a program that can be defunded, waitlisted, or cancelled — the economics are written into a tariff the customer is already on, by rule. Sell the structure: mandatory TOU, worthless exports, real storms, real installers gone.

And hold the line on the number. The arbitrage is roughly $240 a year on today's base rates — real, provable, bounded to summer weekdays — and it does not pay for the battery by itself. Say that before the customer's calculator does. The close is the stack: arbitrage plus outage protection plus rate-and-rules positioning plus a system rescue independently worth thousands. A rep who inflates the arbitrage loses the deal at the kitchen table and poisons the referral; a rep who shows the bounded math and then builds the stack closes it twice — once in the living room and once when the neighbor asks.

Customer Archetypes

The 2020 Ice Storm Veteran. Anywhere in the metro, remembers the week-plus outage, may have a generator quote in a drawer. Lead resilience; close on "and it pays you back every summer, which a generator never will."

The Bill-Shocked TOU Customer. Went solar expecting tiny bills, still sees real summer charges, never understood why. The on-peak line is the answer; the battery is the resolution to a years-old mystery. Highest-trust archetype once you've explained their own bill to them.

The Oversized-System Owner. Big array, big NEBO credits, disappointed returns. Their excess earns wholesale pennies; the battery converts pennies into 27.5-cent avoided purchases. Highest arbitrage value in the book. Verify 125%-cap headroom before any panel-addition talk — the cap cuts both ways.

The Orphaned Customer. Installer gone, inverter aging into its failure window, no service path. Lead with the rescue — for this archetype the takeover is the purchase and the battery is how it happens.

The EV Household. Big off-peak loads, rate-sensitive. A SmartHours Overnight rate with a 2.7-cent window exists but whether solar customers can take it is an open question we do not answer in the field — the standard answer is "your solar puts you on SmartHours Fixed." Never pitch the 2.7-cent rate.

Solar + Battery (New Panels) Angle

Top Tier installs panels, and two OG&E rules shape every addition: more panels without storage mostly manufacture more penny exports, and the 125% peak-load cap is a hard eligibility line — exceed it and the customer is defaulted to the QF tariff and loses NEBO billing entirely. Pair additions with storage so new production becomes 27.5-cent avoided purchases, and verify headroom against the customer's actual trailing-12-month peak demand before quoting anything. Right-sized solar+battery is the best-performing configuration in this territory; oversized solar-only is the worst.

Reading the Bill (rep skill)

(1) The on-peak kWh line — the pitch lives here; most customers have never looked at it. (2) The off-peak line — show the 7.6-to-1 gap on their own paper. (3) The fuel adjustment lines — explain these move twice a year without a rate case. (4) Any NEBO credit line — that's their excess in dollars at the wholesale rate; do the cents-per-kWh division in front of them. (5) The customer charge + assessment fee — the honest floor no system removes.

Final Thoughts

This is the most structurally battery-favorable tariff we sell into anywhere: the utility itself mandates the rate that makes the battery valuable. There is no incentive to expire, no program to be waitlisted, no cohort cliff to race — a 7.6-to-1 spread written into an OCC-stamped tariff, exports worth pennies, storms the whole metro remembers, and thousands of systems whose installers are gone. Sell the structure, show the bounded math, let the ice storm sell the backup, let the rescue carry the orphaned systems, and let the customer check every number. In this market, the straight version is the strong version.