Reading Your PG&E or SCE Bill: Tiers, Time-of-Use and the CARE Discount

California electricity bills are not a single price multiplied by usage. What you pay depends on how much you use relative to a baseline, when in the day you use it, and whether you qualify for a discount programme most eligible households never claim.

The baseline allowance

Each customer has a baseline allowance — a quantity of electricity, set by climate zone and season, priced at the lowest rate. Usage above the allowance is billed at higher rates. Because the allowance is set by climate zone, two households using identical amounts in different parts of the state can pay different totals.

Time-of-use rates

Most residential customers are now on a time-of-use rate, where the price per kilowatt-hour depends on the hour. Late-afternoon and evening hours are the expensive ones, because that is when demand peaks as solar generation falls off.

This is the single most actionable part of a California bill: shifting laundry, dishwashing and EV charging outside peak hours changes what you pay without changing how much you use.

The CARE discount

CARE — California Alternate Rates for Energy — is the main income-qualified discount. Under Public Utilities Code section 739.1, electrical corporations with 100,000 or more customer accounts provide a 30 to 35 percent discount; smaller corporations provide 20 percent. PG&E, SCE and SDG&E are all in the larger category.

CARE is funded by a surcharge paid by other customers, which is why utilities are required to offer it rather than choosing to.

FERA, for households just over the line

Families whose income slightly exceeds the CARE limits may qualify for FERA — the Family Electric Rate Assistance programme — which applies an 18 percent discount on electricity. FERA is available to customers of SCE, SDG&E and PG&E.

Being turned down for CARE is a reason to check FERA, not a reason to stop.

Where to apply and who oversees it

Apply through your own utility. The California Public Utilities Commission sets the rules for both programmes and is the regulator for the investor-owned utilities.

Note that publicly owned utilities — municipal providers such as LADWP and SMUD — are outside CPUC jurisdiction and run their own separate assistance programmes.

What to check on your own bill

Find three things: which rate schedule you are on, your baseline allowance, and how much of your usage fell in peak hours. Those three explain most of the total, and all three are printed on the bill or available in your online account.

Discount percentages and eligibility are set by the CPUC and change. Confirm current terms with your utility.