Good point Claire,
I suppose utility can charge whatever they want for service, and they have. As they could not increase electric rates without state approval, they have been charging fuel surcharge, which has caused electric bill to go up some 40%+ over the past few years.
As for maintenance on the system, I have been reading up on the solar panels and it is correct that panels will continue operating at least 25 years and after that, efficiency will reduce to 80% but still will continue to operate. The weak link seems to be the inverter, which is gadget that converts direct current produced by the sun into alternating current, which we use at home. Average life for an inverter is about 10 years and I will need to find out the replacement cost for an inverter, if it should fail. I am hoping economies of scale will bring prices down 10 years from now, if we decide to go with this.
As for compact florescent bulbs, prices have come down so much that it would make sense for you to try out one room in your house with these bulbs. And if you dont have problem in the room, you can replace the whole house. I got my bulbs online at
http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php while they were having a sale and got great prices. I got reflectors for recessed lighting and globes for bathroom at $$2-2.50 a piece. Of some 30 bulbs replaced, I had 3 or 4 go out (over past 5 years) that I had to replace and I had purchased extras to make sure I had "uniform look" with all fixtures having same bulbs.