One of the things that has always pissed me off about buying electricity is one never knows "how deep" one is in till the bill comes in.
Doesn't give me any current usage feedback and consequently the ability to trim usage to stay within a budget.

First 5 years I lived in my house I made all my electricity with no grid tie backup.
And did NOT live like "Grizzly Adams" (Big screen TV, Microwave, Surround sound stereo, forced air heat, etc. . .)
Was very apparent when consumption rose above norms.
Electricity cost here has tripled since Dec 2005 (the date I ran in grid power) and am re-visiting generating all my own power again given the current trends.

Pretty sad statement when the end consumer can generate electricity cheaper than multi-billion dollar companies.