PG&E Peak Hours and Time-of-Use Rates in 2026: E-TOU-C, E-TOU-D, EV2-A and E-ELEC

PG&E's peak hours are 4 to 9 p.m. every day on E-TOU-C, EV2-A and E-ELEC, and 5 to 8 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays on E-TOU-D. From March 1, 2026, summer peak prices run 47.7 to 55.2 cents per kWh. The cheapest PG&E power is EV2-A's 22.558-cent off-peak rate from midnight to 3 p.m.

Every price here is from PG&E's residential rates table for March 1, 2026 onward, set by Advice Letter 7846-E and checked September 23, 2026; PG&E had not posted a later table. They are total bundled prices for customers who buy both generation and delivery from PG&E. For PG&E's average rate next to SCE and SDG&E, see the California utility rate tracker.

PG&E peak hours by plan

PG&E's own plan page describes the peak as the "higher-priced" hours: 4 to 9 p.m. on E-TOU-C, and 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays on E-TOU-D, with every other hour lower-priced. Summer on these plans runs June 1 through September 30 and winter October 1 through May 31. The hours themselves do not change with the season; the prices do.

PG&E time-of-use prices, March 1, 2026

The PG&E rate tariffs behind these prices

Each plan is a CPUC-approved tariff in PG&E's tariff book: Schedule E-TOU-C, Schedule E-TOU-D, Schedule EV2 (whose rate A is EV2-A) and Schedule E-ELEC. The prices above came into effect with Advice Letter 7846-E on March 1, 2026. Each tariff PDF also carries the plan's eligibility rules, holidays and bill-protection terms, which the rate table leaves out. Our guide to every PG&E residential rate schedule lists the non-time-of-use schedules too, including tiered E-1 and the multifamily plans, and explains how to read a tariff sheet.

E-TOU-C: peak pricing 4 to 9 p.m. every day

E-TOU-C has one rule that is easy to remember and hard to avoid: 4 to 9 p.m. is peak every day, weekends and holidays included. It is also the only PG&E time-of-use plan that keeps the baseline idea. Usage within your baseline allowance, set by your territory, heating source and season, gets an 8.140-cent credit off both the peak and off-peak price.

PG&E's own tariff title spells out the rule: Residential Time-of-Use (Peak Pricing 4 - 9 p.m. Every Day). The tariff lists the same 4-to-9 window for summer and winter, on all days, so there is no weekend or holiday break. One more tariff detail: PG&E's first-year bill protection, which refunds the difference if E-TOU-C cost more than the tiered E-1 plan, does not apply to customers who asked to enroll after May 4, 2022 or who moved to E-TOU-C from another time-of-use plan.

It may fit when household use stays near baseline, evening use is light all week, and big loads can run before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m. It may be a poor fit when cooking, cooling, laundry, a pool pump or EV charging regularly land between 4 and 9, especially on weekends. PG&E's tiered alternative is covered in the PG&E tier rates guide.

E-TOU-D: peak 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays

E-TOU-D narrows the peak to three hours on non-holiday weekdays and makes weekends off-peak all day. It has no baseline credit, so every kWh gets the same time-based price. Its summer peak, 47.708 cents, is the lowest summer peak of the four plans. It tends to suit homes well above baseline or with heavy weekend use, and it is a poor fit when most usage is already inside baseline or the 5-to-8 weekday load cannot move.

EV2-A: PG&E's home EV charging rate

EV2-A prices the whole home, car included, on one meter. Its off-peak rate from midnight to 3 p.m. is 22.558 cents per kWh year-round, the lowest per-kWh price on any PG&E residential plan here. The trade-off is a high summer peak, 53.809 cents, and a partial-peak price of 42.760 cents from 3 to 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight. If the car charges after midnight and the house avoids 4 to 9, the plan rewards it.

EV2-A's off-peak price fell from 34.462 cents in January 2024 to 22.558 cents in March 2026, the last step coming with the Base Services Charge. The full price history, eligibility rules and charging-cost comparisons are in PG&E EV rate plans: EV2-A, EV-B and E-ELEC.

PG&E also offers EV-B, which puts the car on its own second meter. EV-B has its own seasons, May through October for summer, and its own hours: peak 2 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 3 to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays. From March 1, 2026 its prices ran from 23.504 cents off-peak in winter to 62.131 cents on summer peak, plus a meter charge of $0.04928 a day. For costs of charging at home against public chargers, see what public charging costs per kWh in California.

E-ELEC: the Electric Home plan

E-ELEC is for homes with at least one of an electric vehicle, battery storage or an electric heat pump for water or space heating; the home does not need to be all-electric. PG&E places Solar Billing Plan customers on it automatically, and the CPUC requires it for PG&E customers on the net billing tariff. Its summer peak is the highest of the four plans, 55.214 cents, but its winter prices are the lowest: 32.063 cents on peak and 28.468 cents off-peak. Before March 2026, E-ELEC already had its own fixed charge, $0.49281 a day; it now uses the same income-graduated Base Services Charge as the other plans.

E-ELEC vs. EV2-A. EV2-A's off-peak price is far lower, 22.558 cents against E-ELEC's 33.358 in summer and 28.468 in winter, so overnight EV charging favors EV2-A. E-ELEC's winter peak is far lower, 32.063 against 41.099 cents, so a heat pump running on winter evenings favors E-ELEC. A home with both needs the comparison run on its own interval data.

How much does PG&E charge per kWh?

It depends on the plan and the hour, from 22.558 cents on EV2-A off-peak to 55.214 cents on E-ELEC summer peak. As a single figure, the CPUC Public Advocates Office puts PG&E's residential average at 33.7 cents per kWh in June 2026, averaged across every plan, hour and customer and excluding the California Climate Credit. PG&E's tiered E-1 plan charges 32.561 cents within baseline and 40.702 cents above it.

Did PG&E raise rates in 2026?

No. The Public Advocates Office reports PG&E's residential average fell about 7.5% on January 1, 2026, mainly because less generation cost fell on PG&E's own bundled customers, and about 3.7% on March 1, as two wildfire-cost recovery programs ended and the Base Services Charge began. There was no PG&E change in the second quarter. The office projects 33.9 cents by December 31, 2026, counting only requests already filed. Looking further out, its fact sheet on PG&E's 2027 general rate case says the average bill could rise about 16% in 2027 and 30% by 2030 if all of PG&E's expected requests are approved. The year-by-year record is in did PG&E rates go up.

The Base Services Charge changes the comparison

Every plan above adds a daily Base Services Charge: 79.343 cents for most customers, 39.688 cents for income tier 2 and 19.713 cents for income tier 1, roughly $24, $12 and $6 a month. PG&E says the charge separated some costs from the per-kWh price, and that lower kWh prices may or may not mean a lower total bill. Do not add $24 to an old bill and call that the new total; compare the full current bill under each plan.

CCA customers need the joint rate, not these tables

If a community choice aggregator supplies your electricity, it sets the generation price while PG&E keeps delivery, metering, billing and outage response, and a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment can appear. Use the joint rate comparison for your CCA and PG&E plan; adding a CCA generation rate to PG&E's bundled total would count generation twice.

What time of day are PG&E rates lowest?

On EV2-A and E-ELEC, midnight to 3 p.m. every day, when EV2-A charges 22.558 cents. On E-TOU-C, every hour outside 4 to 9 p.m. costs the same off-peak price, 39.940 cents in summer and 36.757 cents in winter before the baseline credit. On E-TOU-D, every hour outside 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and all weekend. So the cheapest PG&E hours depend on the plan: overnight and midday on the EV and electric-home plans, and anything but the early evening on the others. For how PG&E's hours compare with other utilities, see California electricity peak hours by utility.

The best PG&E rate plan for solar

New solar: E-ELEC, with no choice. The CPUC requires PG&E customers on the net billing tariff, which PG&E calls the Solar Billing Plan, to take service on E-ELEC, and PG&E's E-ELEC tariff says those customers do not need an EV, battery or heat pump to qualify. That makes E-ELEC's shape the one to design around: 55.214 cents on summer evenings, 28.468 to 33.358 cents off-peak. A battery that carries midday solar into 4 to 9 p.m. is what the plan rewards.

Existing NEM solar: a time-of-use plan you choose. The CPUC requires NEM 2.0 customers to be on a time-of-use rate but does not tie them to E-ELEC. E-ELEC is open to NEM and NEM 2.0 customers only if they have an eligible EV, battery or heat pump; EV2-A requires an EV, or a battery or heat pump under its pilot rules. Under NEM, exports are credited at the retail price of the hour they happen, so the plan changes both what you pay and what you earn. Run PG&E's rate comparison on a full year of interval data before switching.

Either way, PG&E says the Base Services Charge, about $24 a month for most customers, cannot be offset by generation credits. How to read the monthly solar statement is in how to read a PG&E bill, and how solar rate plans compare across utilities is in solar rates in California.

How to pick a plan without guessing

1. Download at least 12 months of hourly or interval usage from your PG&E account.
2. Count how many kWh fall inside 4 to 9 p.m. every day and inside 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays.
3. Check how much usage falls within your baseline allowance, which only E-TOU-C credits.
4. Add expected loads such as an EV, heat pump, electric water heater or pool equipment.
5. Run PG&E's rate comparison and keep the result with its date, because prices change.
6. After switching, compare the next full billing cycles on kWh per day, not dollars alone.

Before you change plans or add equipment

If the bill itself is the worry, start with the PG&E high-bill checklist, compare statewide in PG&E vs. SCE vs. SDG&E rates, and read battery payback under NEM 3.0 before signing anything. Practical steps to cut the bill on your current plan are in how to lower a PG&E bill.