About California Rate Relief
An honest broker for California homeowners deciding whether solar is worth it, and which installer to trust.
What We Do
California Rate Relief helps California homeowners cut their electric bills by connecting them to vetted local solar installers. Each homeowner who fills out our 60-second quote form gets matched with up to three installers who actively serve their city, so they can compare pricing, warranty, and equipment side by side.
We also publish editorial content on California solar economics: NEM 3.0, utility rate plans, installer reviews, panel and battery product reviews, and city-specific solar guides. Everything we publish is grounded in CPUC filings, utility tariffs, and the contractors' own license records.
How We Make Money
We earn a referral fee when a homeowner who uses our quote form signs a contract with one of the installers in our network. We do not earn money from displaying ads, selling personal data, or charging homeowners. The 3-quote service is free to the homeowner.
Our installer rankings, comparison pages, and individual reviews are editorial, not pay-to-play. The installers we cover were selected based on California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) status, BBB reputation, customer review data, and verified service area — not on referral economics.
How We Stay Honest
- CSLB-verified installers only. Every installer we route quotes to has an active California C-46 (Solar) or C-10 (Electrical) license that we verified at cslb.ca.gov.
- Editorial independence. No installer pays for placement. We publish honest trade-offs even on installers we partner with.
- NEM 3.0 realism. We don't pitch “pay nothing, save everything” messaging. NEM 3.0 changed the math; we publish what the math actually says.
- Corrections. If we get a fact wrong, we fix it and note the correction on the page. Email corrections through our contact page.
Who We Are
California Rate Relief is operated by a small team that has been working in California residential solar since the NEM 2.0 era. We watched the rules change with NEM 3.0, watched some installers walk away from California while others doubled down, and watched a lot of homeowners get locked into 25-year PPA contracts they didn't fully understand. This site is our attempt to make sure the next round of homeowners has better information.
Contact
Questions, corrections, partnership inquiries: see our contact page. Affiliate details on our affiliate disclosure page.