PG&E Announces Electric Home Rate Plan Available to Residential Customers with an EV, Battery Storage or Electric Heat Pump

By Mike Gazda

PG&E today (April 19) announced the new Electric Home Rate Plan that can help high-use residential customers with qualifying electric technologies save on their electric bills by shifting usage to lower priced times of day, when there is less demand on the grid. The rate plan is currently available to non-solar residential customers with a registered electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in hybrid EV, battery storage, or electric heat pump for water heating or climate control (space heating or cooling). Most solar customers will be eligible for the rate plan later this year.

The Electric Home Rate Plan includes a $15 monthly base services charge, which lowers the prices for each unit of energy (KWh), on average, compared to other residential rate plans. The lowest prices on the plan are available during the off-peak period between midnight to 3 p.m. Partial-peak prices apply to usage between 3 to 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight, and the peak prices are from 4 to 9 p.m.

“The new Electric Home Rate Plan is designed to encourage the use of certain electric technologies — like charging EVs and running electric heat pump appliances for water heating or climate control in your home — during periods when rates and energy demand are lower on the grid,” said Vincent Davis, PG&E’s Vice President, Customer Operations and Enablement. “This new rate plan is aligned with California Senate Bill 1020 and aims to provide an additional resource for customers working toward electrification in support of the state’s climate and clean energy goals.”    

Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Generation Service customers, who purchase energy from their non-utility provider and continue receiving delivery services from PG&E, may also qualify to participate in the rate program.

Customers can learn more about the Electric Home Rate Plan and enroll at pge.com/electrichome.

PG&E Rate Plans

PG&E offers a variety of rate plans and resources to help customers save on their bills. Customers are encouraged to choose the plan that works best for them:

• Choose the right rate plan for the household by utilizing PG&E’s personalized rate comparison tool.
• Enroll in free programs including Bill Forecast Alerts to receive notifications when the customer’s bill is expected to exceed an amount set by them and Budget Billing to spread energy costs evenly throughout the year.
• Sign up for income-qualified programs including the California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) program offering a monthly discount of 20% or more on gas and electricity and the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program offering a monthly discount of 18% on electricity only. Some customers may also qualify for the Energy Saving Assistance Program offering free improvements to make the home more efficient, safe and comfortable.
• Check eligibility for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program offering one-time payments to help pay household energy costs and the Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help (REACH) providing one-time financial assistance to qualified customers with past-due bills.
• If you have a qualifying medical condition and/or require use of a qualifying medical device to treat ongoing medical conditions, you may be eligible for a cost reduction on your energy bill and extra outage alerts. Visit pge.com/medicalbaseline to learn more and apply today.