How to Lower Your PG&E Electric Bill in 2026

PG&E residential rates are among the highest in the United States. The average customer pays $230–$280/month — and that number keeps climbing. If your bill feels out of control, you're not imagining it. But there's a lot you can do about it.

This guide covers five concrete strategies, ordered by impact. None of them require you to sit in the dark or buy expensive equipment. The biggest savings usually come from rate plan switches and billing error corrections — both of which cost nothing.

1. Why Your PG&E Bill Is So High

Before you can fix your bill, it helps to understand why it's high in the first place.

Tiered Pricing and Baseline Allowances

Every PG&E residential customer gets a monthly baseline allowance — a set number of kWh based on your climate zone and household type. Usage up to that amount is billed at Tier 1. Everything above it flips to Tier 2, which costs 35–45% more per kWh.

Tier Approx. Rate (2026) When It Applies
Tier 1 (baseline) ~$0.32/kWh Usage up to your monthly baseline
Tier 2 (above baseline) ~$0.43/kWh Every kWh above your baseline

Most customers don't know their baseline, don't know how close they are to hitting it, and don't know they're getting charged Tier 2 rates every month. Check your baseline in your PG&E My Account portal under Usage → Baseline Allowance.

Time-of-Use Surcharges

If you're on a time-of-use (TOU) plan, electricity during peak hours (typically 4–9 PM weekdays) costs roughly double the off-peak rate. Running the AC, charging an EV, or doing laundry during peak hours is significantly more expensive than doing the same thing at 10 PM.

Fixed Charges and Taxes

A portion of your bill — typically $15–$20/month — is fixed regardless of usage. This includes the PCIA passthrough charge, franchise fees, and state taxes. You can't control these, but understanding what they are helps you see what's actually variable.

2. Switch to the Right Rate Plan

This is the single highest-impact change most households can make — and it's completely free.

Rate plan mismatches cost the average California household $180–$400/year. Some households are $1,700/year worse off on their current plan than they'd be on the right one. PG&E will let you switch anytime, the switch takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle, and there's no penalty for switching back if the new plan doesn't work out.

The Main PG&E Residential Rate Plans

E-1 — Standard Tiered No time-of-use component. You pay Tier 1 up to baseline, Tier 2 above it. Best for low-usage households who genuinely cannot shift when they use electricity. If your monthly usage is modest and your schedule is inflexible, E-1 is fine. If you're regularly above baseline, you're probably overpaying.

E-TOU-C — Time-of-Use (Version C) Peak hours: 4–9 PM weekdays. Off-peak all other times, including all weekends. This is PG&E's most popular TOU plan and the default for new enrollments. Off-peak rates ($0.28/kWh) are lower than E-1's Tier 1. Peak rates ($0.52/kWh) are higher. The math works out in your favor if you can consistently avoid running heavy loads — dishwasher, laundry, EV charging — until after 9 PM.

E-TOU-D — Time-of-Use (Version D) Similar structure to E-TOU-C but with cheaper all-day weekend rates ($0.25/kWh). If your household does most of its heavy electricity use on weekends, E-TOU-D beats E-TOU-C. Weekday peak is slightly more expensive ($0.55/kWh), so the weekend discount has to outweigh the weekday premium.

EV2-A — Electric Vehicle Rate Designed for EV owners who charge overnight. The overnight window (typically 9 PM–9 AM in summer, with a super off-peak window as low as ~$0.17/kWh) is extremely cheap. The trade-off: peak rates (5–8 PM weekdays) hit ~$0.65/kWh. An EV owner who charges overnight saves $600–$1,200/year on EV2-A versus E-1. The same owner who charges during peak hours loses hundreds.

E-ELEC — All-Electric For homes with no natural gas service. Higher baseline allowance, recognizing that all-electric homes run significantly more electricity for heating, water heating, and cooking. If you've fully electrified your home, this plan is worth evaluating.

E-6 — Time-of-Use with Peak Pricing Tiers An older plan with both tiered pricing and time-of-use windows. Still available to customers who were enrolled before changes. If you're on E-6, compare it against E-TOU-C — many customers save by switching.

For a detailed breakdown of each plan's rates, peak windows, and the exact scenarios where each wins, see our PG&E rate plan comparison guide.

How to Find Your Optimal Plan

There's no universal winner — it depends on when your household uses electricity, not just how much. The fastest way to know which plan saves you the most is to upload your bill to BrightBill and get a side-by-side comparison based on your actual usage pattern.

3. Shift Usage to Off-Peak Hours

If you're on a TOU plan, when you run appliances matters as much as how much you run them. Peak hours (4–9 PM weekdays for most plans) cost roughly twice as much as off-peak.

Here's a practical playbook:

Easy Shifts (Set It Once, Save Forever)

Smart Thermostat Strategy

Pre-cooling is one of the best TOU strategies. Set your thermostat to cool the house to 72–74°F before 4 PM, then let it coast through peak hours. By 9 PM when off-peak starts, the house has warmed slightly but not enough to be uncomfortable.

On a 100°F California summer day, this approach can save $3–$5/day compared to running AC continuously at peak rates. Over a summer, that's $150–$300.

For more detail on how TOU plans interact with your usage patterns, see our guide on PG&E time-of-use rates explained.

4. Check Your Bill for Billing Errors

PG&E processes millions of bills monthly. Errors happen — and they don't fix themselves. Most customers never notice because they don't know what to look for.

The Most Common PG&E Billing Errors

Wrong rate plan assignment Did you recently move, install solar, or buy an EV? Any of those events should trigger a rate plan review. Many customers end up on E-1 when they'd save significantly on a TOU plan — or vice versa. Check your current rate plan by logging into PG&E My Account and comparing it against the guide above.

Estimated meter reads If a PG&E meter reader can't access your meter, they estimate your usage based on prior months. Look for the phrase "Estimated Bill Based on" on your bill statement. Estimates are frequently inaccurate and typically overstate usage. Request an actual read if you see this language.

Incorrect baseline territory Your baseline allowance is tied to your climate zone. Errors in PG&E's system can assign you the wrong zone — giving you a lower baseline than you're entitled to and pushing you into Tier 2 faster. Call PG&E to verify your assigned baseline territory if your usage seems unusually high relative to your neighbors.

Missed CARE or FERA discount If your household income qualifies for PG&E's CARE program (California Alternate Rates for Energy), you get 30–35% off your total bill automatically. FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance) offers a smaller discount for households just above CARE income limits. Many qualifying households aren't enrolled because they never applied. Check eligibility at pge.com/care.

Duplicate charges or rate transition errors After a rate change or service transfer, billing systems sometimes carry over old charges or apply double fees. Pull three months of bills and compare the line items — any inconsistency in rate codes, baseline allowances, or applied discounts is worth a call to PG&E customer service.

For more on reading your bill and spotting overcharges, see our guides on how to read your PG&E bill and smart meter overcharging signs.

5. Go Solar — But Do the Math First

For homeowners with bills over $200/month, solar is often the most impactful long-term strategy. But the NEM 3.0 changes in 2023 significantly altered the economics, and going solar without understanding those changes can lead to disappointment.

NEM 2.0 vs. NEM 3.0

NEM 2.0 (solar installed before April 2023): Exported electricity earned near-retail credits — roughly $0.28–$0.32/kWh. The economics were straightforward: every kWh your panels produced was worth almost as much whether you used it or sold it back.

NEM 3.0 (installed after April 2023): Export credits dropped to roughly $0.05–$0.08/kWh — an 83% reduction. Your panels still offset what you consume during the day, but excess solar sent to the grid earns a fraction of what it used to.

What this means practically:

The NEM 3.0 Math

A 7 kW system in Northern California (medium-sized home) might produce ~9,000 kWh/year. Under NEM 3.0:

At $20,000–$25,000 installed cost (after the 30% federal ITC: ~$14,000–$17,500 net), payback is 6–7 years for a home with that usage profile and good self-consumption.

Add battery storage, and the numbers improve under NEM 3.0 because you can shift your own solar production to peak hours instead of exporting it cheap and re-importing expensive.

What BrightBill Tells You About Solar

If you're considering solar, BrightBill can tell you:

For the full NEM 2.0 vs NEM 3.0 breakdown, see our NEM 3.0 vs NEM 2.0 comparison.

6. Find Your Exact Savings with BrightBill

All five strategies above have real impact. But most people don't know:

BrightBill does this analysis in under 3 minutes. Upload your PG&E bill and get:

The average BrightBill user finds $340/year in savings on their first analysis. Most of it comes from rate plan mismatches they didn't know about — followed by billing errors that had been quietly compounding for months.

It's free. It takes 3 minutes. Your bill data stays private.

Analyze your PG&E bill for free →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can I actually save by switching PG&E rate plans?

It varies significantly by household, but the average savings from switching to the right rate plan are $180–$400/year. EV owners who charge overnight and switch to EV2-A often save $600–$1,200/year. The savings are entirely dependent on when your household uses electricity — a household that can't shift loads might not benefit from a TOU plan at all.

Does PG&E charge a fee to switch rate plans?

No. Switching rate plans is free and you can do it anytime through your online account or by calling PG&E customer service. Changes take effect at the start of your next billing cycle. You can also switch back if you don't like the new plan.

What are PG&E's peak hours in 2026?

For most PG&E TOU plans (E-TOU-C, E-TOU-D), peak hours are 4–9 PM on weekdays. For EV2-A, the peak window is slightly narrower: 5–8 PM weekdays, with a partial-peak window from 3–5 PM and 8–9 PM. All weekend hours are off-peak under every plan. Peak rates are typically $0.50–$0.65/kWh; off-peak rates are $0.25–$0.30/kWh.

What is the CARE program and do I qualify?

CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy) provides a 30–35% discount on your PG&E electric bill if your household income falls within qualifying limits. For a family of four, the income limit is around $52,400/year. FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance) offers a smaller discount for households just above the CARE threshold. You can check eligibility and apply at pge.com/care. If you qualify and aren't enrolled, every month you're overpaying.

Related guides: Why is my PG&E bill so high? · PG&E rate plans compared · How to read your PG&E bill · PG&E summer rates 2026 · NEM 3.0 vs NEM 2.0

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