Which utility serves my address in California?

California is served by Southern California Edison, PG&E. Your bill names your utility at the top. Service maps do not follow county or town lines, so if your bill does not match what you expect, call (832) 263-8055 and we will check your exact address.

What is an all-in electricity rate?

The all-in rate is your total bill divided by the kilowatt-hours you used. It includes supply, delivery and riders, not the supply rate alone. It is the number that matters when comparing against solar, because solar offsets everything you would otherwise buy.

Can I still claim the 30% federal solar tax credit in California?

The 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Homeowners buying with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it. Section 48E still applies to third-party-owned systems such as leases and power purchase agreements, where the system owner claims it.

Why do California electricity rates keep rising?

Utilities buy wholesale power through a regional grid operator. When capacity and energy prices rise there, they land across the state at roughly the same time rather than utility by utility. Demand from data centers is arriving faster than new generation is being built, and that gap shows up on the delivery side of the bill.

Home › California Electric Rates

California · Updated August 2026

California electric rates in 2026

What every California utility actually charges, where the number comes from, and what it means for your bill.

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Questions

The things people actually ask

What is the average electricity rate in California?

About 33.25 cents per kilowatt-hour statewide, roughly 80% above the national average, and it varies sharply by utility: SCE 34.4 cents effective June 2026, PG&E similar, and SDG&E at 46.4 cents, the highest of any major US utility. SDG&E's bundled rate rose from 41.0 cents in October 2025 to 46.4 cents by April 2026. Your own bill divided by your kilowatt-hours is the number that applies to you.

Is there a California state solar tax credit?

No. California has never had a state solar income tax credit and does not have one now. The federal residential credit ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. What exists is a property tax exclusion on the added value, scheduled to sunset January 1, 2027, and SGIP battery rebates, which are largely closed to general residential applicants but open for income-qualified households.

Does California still have net metering?

Not for new systems. Since April 15, 2023, new interconnections in PG&E, SCE and SDG&E territory are on NEM 3.0, a net billing tariff that pays exports at avoided cost rather than retail. That single change is why battery storage matters more in California than in any other state: power you store and use yourself is worth the full retail rate; power you export is worth a fraction of it.

Estimate what solar does against your California electric bill

Enter your bill and we’ll size the array that would cover it, and show the gross value of that production at your rate. It does not net off the customer charge, taxes or what you would still draw at night — for that, use the bill savings calculator. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs in your browser.

Your monthly bill

Your rate (¢/kWh)

Sun hours where you live

Shading

You use about—

System size to cover it—

Panels, roughly—

Roof area needed—

Your current annual electricity spend—

See what your roof actually produces →

An estimate from your own numbers, not a quote, and not a savings figure. It assumes 400 W panels, an 80% system derate and no roof constraints. Your real number depends on orientation, roof area and your utility’s export credit. Savings are not guaranteed.

Work it out further

Bill forecast · What your bill becomes in 25 yearsPayback period · When a purchase pays for itselfSystem size · How many panels your roof needsBattery backup · What a battery actually runs

Every utility, side by side

What California homeowners pay

Utility	All-in rate	Full breakdown
Southern California Edison	~34.4¢	Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, S… →
PG&E	~33¢+	San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, Bake… →
SDG&E	~46.4¢	San Diego County and southern Orange County — highest in the US
LADWP	24.8–30.6¢	City of Los Angeles — tiered, plus a 10% city electricity tax

Figures as published August 2026. Each utility resets on its own schedule — check your bill for the rate on your account.

The production side

What a roof in California produces

California averages about 5.4 peak sun hours a day. A well-oriented kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1,577 kilowatt-hours a year. A typical 9 kW residential system therefore produces around 14,193 kilowatt-hours annually, which at a rate near 34.4¢ is worth roughly $4,882 a year before any incentive.

Those are pre-shading figures. Trees, roof pitch and orientation move them, sometimes a lot, which is why we read your specific roof rather than quoting a state average at you.

What has actually moved

Utility	Change	Effective
SDG&E	41.0 → 46.4¢	October 2025 to April 2026 — roughly 13% in six months, highest in the continental US
SCE	34.4¢	Average residential rate effective June 1, 2026
California average	33.25¢	About 80% above the national average of 18.44¢

What California actually offers a homeowner

There is no California state solar tax credit and there never has been. What exists: a property tax exclusion under Revenue and Taxation Code section 73 — a $30,000 system adds $0 to your assessment — currently scheduled to sunset January 1, 2027 unless extended. SGIP pays for battery storage; the general residential budget is reported as closed or nearly closed, while the income-qualified Equity and DAC-SASH budgets remain open at around $1,100 per kWh of storage. The federal residential credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025.

How export credit works in California

Not net metering. Systems interconnecting in PG&E, SCE or SDG&E territory on or after April 15, 2023 are on the Net Billing Tariff, NEM 3.0. Under NEM 2.0 exports were credited near retail, roughly 30–35¢. Under NEM 3.0 they are paid at avoided cost, typically single digits, which is why a battery changes the math more in California than anywhere else. Sizing to maximize exports under NEM 3.0 is a design error — what NEM 3.0 actually pays.

How California works

Why the number is what it is

California re-regulated after the 2000–01 energy crisis, so your utility is determined by your address. Rates are set through CPUC proceedings rather than wholesale auctions.

California residential rates average 33.25 cents, roughly 80% above the national average. Under NEM 3.0 net billing, exported power earns considerably less than retail — which makes storage matter more here than anywhere else.

The honest cost picture

Two ways to pay for solar

If you buy the system you own the equipment, keep any renewable credits, and carry maintenance. If you use a PPA it is $0 upfront — we install and own the system, you buy the power it produces, and you only pay for what it actually generates.

The residential federal tax credit (25D) ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025.

You will still see ads promising a 30% credit that “ends December 31.” Read the date on them. What remains applies to the owner of the system — which, under a PPA, is us. SolarAmerica does not provide tax advice; talk to your tax professional.

Who you would be working with

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Sources

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page is drawn from a public filing or a published rate schedule. We update it when the utility resets.

California Public Utilities Commission — Decision 24-05-028 and rate case filings
U.S. Energy Information Administration — Electric Power Monthly
Utility advice letters and rate change notices

Last updated August 2026.

See what your roof and your utility add up to

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Local detail

Solar by county in California

Every California county has its own page with local towns, ZIP codes, peak sun hours and production math against the rate above. 58 in total.