PG&E Rate Increase 2026: What Residential Customers Actually Pay Now
PG&E's 2026 rate changes are a mix. A slight generation-rate decrease on paper, offset by a new $24 Base Services Charge that hit most customers harder than the headlines suggested.
The Actual 2026 Numbers
PG&E's average residential rate is approximately 41.46¢/kWh in 2026, down modestly from 44.36¢/kWh in late 2025. But that headline decrease is deceptive because of the new Base Services Charge.
The $24 Base Services Charge
Effective March 2026, all PG&E residential customers pay a fixed $24/month Base Services Charge regardless of electricity usage. This is distinct from per-kWh generation/transmission rates — it applies even if you use zero kWh from the grid. For solar homeowners, this fixed charge is unavoidable: net metering cannot zero it out.
A low-use household paying $60/month in kWh charges now pays $84/month. A solar household whose bill was $12/month now pays $36/month.
What Drove the Increase
- Wildfire-mitigation infrastructure spending (undergrounding lines in HFTD zones).
- Legacy liability payments from 2017–2019 wildfire settlements.
- Rate-base recovery of grid modernization investments.
- The AB 205 fixed-charge restructuring approved by the CPUC, which created the Base Services Charge.
Rate Plan Options
PG&E offers several time-of-use plans. If you can shift laundry, dishwasher, EV charging, and pool pumps to off-peak hours (typically before 4 PM or after 9 PM), the best-fit TOU plan can save 10–15%. Log into your PG&E account and use the rate-comparison tool.
What You Can Do
- Check your rate plan. Many households are on a default plan that isn't optimal.
- Apply for CARE or FERA. Income-qualified discounts of 18–35%.
- Medical Baseline allowance. Additional low-tier electricity for medical-equipment households.
- Consider solar + battery. Solar alone under NEM 3.0 has stretched payback; pairing with a battery for self-consumption recovers most of the economics. See Solar Battery Backup in California.