Why Is My California Electric Bill So High? What Drives Rates and What to Check

California electricity is expensive because of what utilities are allowed to recover in rates: wildfire prevention and liability, transmission and distribution upgrades, and rooftop solar incentives. Residential rates have risen 69% to 101% since 2016. Your own bill on top of that depends on daily usage, your rate plan, the season and fixed charges, so check those next.

This page is the starting point for every bill question on the site. The first half explains the statewide price. The second half is a checklist for your own statement, with a tool that separates a usage jump from a price jump, and a map of the utility-specific guides. For the current rate at each utility, use the California utility rate tracker.

Why electricity is so expensive in California

The CPUC's Public Advocates Office, which represents customers before the commission, tracks residential rates every quarter. Its July 2026 report, citing the CPUC's 2025 SB 695 report, names three main statewide drivers:

• Wildfire mitigation and wildfire liability. Undergrounding lines, clearing vegetation, insurance and past fire costs. The office counts $3.97 billion of PG&E's 2026 revenue requirement as wildfire-related, about 19%, and about 14% at both SCE and SDG&E.
• Transmission and distribution investment. The wires, poles, substations and high-voltage lines that move power to homes.
• Rooftop solar incentives. Net energy metering credits exports at retail prices; the office lists those incentives among the main drivers of higher rates.

The result shows up in the office's ten-year numbers. From January 2016 to June 2026, the residential average rate rose 69% at PG&E, 101% at SCE and 97% at SDG&E. The report's chart shows rates rising far faster than general inflation since 2014. As of June 2026 the averages were 33.7 cents per kWh at PG&E, 34.4 cents at SCE and 45.5 cents at SDG&E.

One thing works in California's favor: homes here use little electricity. In EIA's 2024 data the average California home used 503 kWh a month, second-lowest of the 50 states and D.C., against a U.S. average of 863 kWh. That keeps the average monthly bill, $160.86 in 2024, well below what the price alone would suggest. It also means fixed costs are spread over fewer kWh. More on how that plays out in the national rate ranking.

What California households pay, and whether it is still rising

The price. EIA's preliminary figure for full-year 2025 is 32.54 cents per kWh for California homes, up from 31.97 cents in 2024 and second only to Hawaii's 40.59 cents; the U.S. average was 17.30 cents. Monthly data point the same way: 34.74 cents in June 2026 against 33.59 cents in June 2025, a rise of about 3.4%.

The trend by utility is mixed. Between June 2025 and June 2026, the Public Advocates Office shows PG&E's residential average falling from 38.6 to 33.7 cents per kWh, as wildfire-cost charges ended and the Base Services Charge began, while SCE rose from 31.2 to 34.4 cents and SDG&E from 41.5 to 45.5 cents. The California utility rate tracker logs each change with its date.

The bill. EIA's latest full-year average is $160.86 a month in 2024. For a home that also buys gas, EIA's 2024 gas data work out to about 36.7 thousand cubic feet a year at $19.14 per thousand, roughly $59 a month over the year, so heat and electricity together average about $220 a month, with gas heaviest in winter. At the utility level, SMUD's June 1, 2026 comparison of a 750 kWh month shows $290 on PG&E, $283 on SCE and $322 on SDG&E, against $149 at SMUD. The average California utility bill breaks these down further, and your own utility's price is easiest to find with the electricity rate lookup by address.

Why your bill is high: check these in order

Statewide prices explain why every Californian pays more than the national average. They do not explain why your bill jumped this month. For that, work down this list.

1. Billing days. A 33-day bill is not comparable with a 28-day bill. Divide total kWh by days on each statement.
2. kWh per day. Compare with the same month last year, not last month. Air conditioning, a new EV, a pool pump or electric heating can double daily use.
3. Season and peak hours. Summer prices run June through September at PG&E and SCE. On the main time-of-use plans at all three utilities, 4 to 9 p.m. costs the most; SDG&E's default TOU-DR1 charged 69.135 cents per kWh on summer peak from August 1, 2026, before its baseline credit.
4. Baseline and tiers. Usage above your baseline allowance costs more. PG&E's tiered E-1 plan charged 32.561 cents within baseline and 40.702 cents above it from March 1, 2026.
5. Fixed charges. Since late 2025 at SCE and SDG&E and March 1, 2026 at PG&E, most bills include a Base Services Charge of about $24 a month, or $6 and $12 for CARE and FERA customers. It replaced part of the per-kWh price, so a low-use home can pay more and a high-use home less.
6. Missing credits. In 2026 the California Climate Credit came in August and September: $36.18 per payment at PG&E, $36.00 at SCE and $49.36 at SDG&E. A bill without it looks higher.
7. Who supplies generation. If a community choice provider buys your power, its generation charges and the utility's delivery charges are separate sections of the same bill.

If daily use held steady but daily charges rose, the price changed: a rate plan, a season, a tier, a credit or a rate change. If daily use rose, the fix is in the house. The CPUC's rate comparison tool lists the residential, CARE and EV rates available at your ZIP code, including community choice providers.

Guides for each part of the bill

Pick the guide for the utility on your statement or the line you do not recognize.

If the bill is hard to pay

About 2.42 million PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers were behind on their bills in May 2026, owing $619 on average, according to the Public Advocates Office. If your household income is at or below the CPUC limits, $43,280 for one or two people and $66,000 for four from June 1, 2026, CARE cuts the electric bill 30% to 35%. FERA takes 18% off for households just above those limits. Medical Baseline adds lower-priced energy for homes that rely on medical equipment. Apply through your utility; municipal utilities such as LADWP and SMUD run their own programs.

If you think the bill is wrong

Call the utility first, using the customer service number on the front of the bill, with a full copy of the bill in hand. If a PG&E, SCE or SDG&E dispute is not resolved, the CPUC can walk you through the complaint process at 1-800-649-7570. The CPUC says it cannot resolve issues with municipal utilities such as SMUD or LADWP.

Where solar fits, once you know the cause

Solar addresses usage and time of use. It does not remove the Base Services Charge or non-bypassable charges, and new systems at PG&E, SCE and SDG&E are credited under the net billing tariff, where exports usually earn less than retail prices. Before comparing proposals, read how NEM 2.0 and NEM 3.0 credit exports, check California solar costs and sizing, and see which California solar incentives still apply in 2026. A proposal should use a full year of your actual usage and your current rate plan, and show what stays on the bill afterward.