Solar Rates in California: The Solar Tariff, the Rate Plan You Pay, and What Exports Earn
A California solar home pays two rates. One is the rate plan for power you still buy from the grid, and for new solar at PG&E, SCE and SDG&E the CPUC sets it: E-ELEC, TOU-D-PRIME and EV-TOU-5. The other is what the utility credits for power you send back, which under today's solar tariff changes by the hour and is usually lower than what you pay.
That solar tariff is the net billing tariff the CPUC adopted in Decision 22-12-056, called the Solar Billing Plan by the utilities. It has applied to anyone applying for interconnection since April 15, 2023. Homes connected earlier under net energy metering keep those terms for 20 years. The figures below come from the CPUC's net billing page and each utility's current rate tables, checked September 23, 2026.
In one paragraph
Import rate: a required time-of-use plan whose most expensive hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Export rate: hourly credits based on the grid value of power at that hour, very low at spring middays and highest on late-summer evenings. Fixed charges: about $24 a month and non-bypassable charges that solar credits cannot pay. The combination rewards using your own solar and storing it for the evening, not exporting at noon.
California solar tariff basics
The solar rate plan at each utility
| Utility | Solar tariff | Import rate plan | Summer peak | Summer lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG&E | Solar Billing Plan (net billing) | E-ELEC (required) | 55.214¢, 4–9 p.m. | 33.358¢, midnight–3 p.m. |
| SCE | Solar Billing Plan (net billing) | TOU-D-PRIME (required) | 59¢, 4–9 p.m. weekdays | 26¢ off-peak |
| SDG&E | Solar Billing Plan (net billing) | EV-TOU-5 (required, residential) | 80.205¢, 4–9 p.m. | 13.090¢ super off-peak |
| SMUD | Solar and Storage Rate | Set by SMUD, not the CPUC | See SMUD rates | See SMUD rates |
| LADWP | Net Energy Metering rider | Your published LADWP rate (R-1A or R-1B) | See LADWP rates | See LADWP rates |
Sources: CPUC net billing page; PG&E residential rate table (March 1, 2026) and E-ELEC tariff; SCE Time-of-Use plans page (SCE-rounded prices); SDG&E EV-TOU-5 table (August 1, 2026); SMUD residential rates; LADWP EV/NEM/REO rates page. All checked September 23, 2026.
PG&E. PG&E's E-ELEC tariff says customers billed on the net billing tariff must be served on E-ELEC and do not need the EV, battery or heat pump other E-ELEC customers need. Its summer peak is the highest of PG&E's whole-home plans and its winter prices the lowest, 28.468 to 32.063 cents. More in PG&E time-of-use rates and the best plan for solar.
SCE. TOU-D-PRIME has no baseline credit but SCE's lowest off-peak prices, 24 to 26 cents, and a 4-to-9 p.m. window priced at 59 cents on summer weekdays and 56 cents in winter. More in SCE time-of-use rates.
SDG&E. EV-TOU-5 has the widest spread: about 13 cents super off-peak against about 80 cents on summer evenings. More in SDG&E and solar.
SMUD and LADWP. The CPUC's net billing tariff does not apply to city-owned utilities. SMUD credits exports on its Solar and Storage Rate at a flat 9.6 cents per kWh. LADWP's Net Energy Metering rider, effective since September 1, 2008, bills net energy on your regular rate and carries any credit balance forward to later bills, except taxes and minimum charges. See SMUD peak hours and rates and LADWP rates.
What exports earn under the solar tariff
The CPUC says net billing credits exports at a rate reflecting the value of that power to the grid, based on its Avoided Cost Calculator and usually lower than the retail rate. In practice the value swings by hour and month. SDG&E's 2026 hourly export file, which we summed across its generation and delivery parts, shows how much.
| Month | Noon | 6 p.m. |
|---|---|---|
| April | 0.41¢ | 7.33¢ |
| August | 6.07¢ | $1.07 |
| December | 5.72¢ | 9.58¢ |
Source: SDG&E Solar Billing Plan export pricing, 2026 files, checked September 23, 2026. PG&E and SCE publish their own hourly values on the same basis.
For comparison, SDG&E's EV-TOU-5 charges 13.090 to 80.205 cents for the same kWh bought in summer. The gap is why a kWh used at home is usually worth several times a kWh exported at midday. PG&E's export values by month and hour are in what utilities pay for power sold back to the grid.
Lock-in and the ACC Plus adder. The CPUC guarantees the original customer the net billing tariff for nine years. Residential PG&E and SCE customers who apply to interconnect before the end of 2027 also get slightly higher export credits for nine years, the adder the CPUC calls ACC Plus; the CPUC's summary does not list SDG&E for it.
Charges solar cannot touch
Every PG&E, SCE and SDG&E residential bill now carries a Base Services Charge, about $24 a month for most households, and each utility says solar credits cannot pay it. PG&E says it is not eligible to be offset by monthly generation credits; SCE says it is payable each month even for NEM and Solar Billing Plan customers; SDG&E lists it among non-nettable charges with customer, meter and non-bypassable charges. Bills are also due monthly under the net billing tariff, which the CPUC says is meant to avoid a large surprise at true-up.
Older solar: NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0 rates
Homes interconnected before the net billing tariff are on net energy metering, which credits exports at retail rates, including generation, distribution and transmission, and requires NEM 2.0 customers to be on a time-of-use rate. They keep NEM 2.0 for 20 years from interconnection; SDG&E says its accounts then move to the Solar Billing Plan. Compare the two in NEM 2.0 vs the net billing tariff and net billing vs net metering; see when a legacy term ends in when NEM 2.0 expires.
What this means for a solar decision
Under these rates, the value of solar is mostly the imports it avoids, not the exports it sells. A system sized to your daytime use, with a battery to cover 4 to 9 p.m., avoids the most expensive kWh on each required plan. Any proposal should show your remaining bill on the required rate plan, including the Base Services Charge, and the export-rate set it assumed. Battery economics under these rates are in battery payback under net billing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the solar tariff in California?
For new rooftop solar at PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, it is the net billing tariff the CPUC adopted in Decision 22-12-056, which the utilities call the Solar Billing Plan. It has applied to customers applying for interconnection since April 15, 2023. It sets a required time-of-use rate for the power you buy and credits exports at values from the CPUC's Avoided Cost Calculator, which the CPUC says are usually lower than the retail rate.
What rate plan do solar customers pay?
Under the net billing tariff the CPUC names one rate per utility: E-ELEC at PG&E, TOU-D-PRIME at SCE and EV-TOU-5 at SDG&E. Customers still on NEM 2.0 must be on a time-of-use rate but are not tied to those three. City-owned utilities such as SMUD and LADWP set their own solar rules.
Do solar customers pay a fixed charge?
Yes. PG&E, SCE and SDG&E residential customers, solar or not, pay a Base Services Charge of about $24 a month for most households, and all three say solar credits cannot pay it. Non-bypassable charges also stay on every bill.
How much do California utilities pay for solar exports?
Under the net billing tariff, it varies by hour. SDG&E's 2026 export file values a weekday noon export at about 0.4 cents per kWh in April and a weekday 6 p.m. export at about $1.07 in August. SMUD pays a flat 9.6 cents per kWh on its Solar and Storage Rate. NEM 1.0 and 2.0 customers are credited at retail rates.
Is a solar power tariff the same as a tariff on solar panels?
No. On utility bills, "tariff" means the approved rate schedule, and the solar tariff is the rule set for how a solar home is billed and credited. Federal import tariffs on solar panels are a different subject that affects equipment prices, not your utility rate plan; this page covers the utility meaning.
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