Why Your Electric Bill Is Still High After Going Solar
Your bill can stay high after going solar because of a new fixed monthly charge that solar can't reduce, charges the utility is now allowed to collect on every kilowatt-hour you import regardless of your panels, an export credit rate that's a fraction of what NEM 2.0 paid, and — sometimes — a system that was sized for last year's usage, not this year's.
Several of those changed on the utility side at the same time your panels went up, and most of them have nothing to do with how much sun your roof gets. If you went solar in California in 2024 or 2025 and your bill still isn't what you expected, you're not imagining it and you didn't necessarily get sold a bad system: the system can work and production can look fine while the bill stays high.
Work through the checklist below in order. Most homeowners find the answer in the first two or three steps, and it's often not what they were told to expect at the sales table.
If your bill jumped and you are not sure why, start with what to check on a high California bill.
Key facts
- New fixed charge (Tier 3 / standard)
- $24.00/month
- PG&E's implemented standard Base Services Charge rate, confirmed on pge.com as of 2026-09-05. The underlying CPUC decision approved a uniform cap of $24.15/month (Utility Dive, citing the CPUC decision) — treat $24.00 as the figure a PG&E customer actually sees billed.
- CARE-tier fixed charge
- $6.00/month
- Tier 1 (CARE, under 200% federal poverty line). PG&E Base Services Charge page and CPUC decision (via Utility Dive), as of 2026-09-05.
- FERA-tier fixed charge
- $12.00/month
- Tier 2 (FERA). PG&E Base Services Charge page and CPUC decision (via Utility Dive) both confirm $12.00/month, as of 2026-09-05.
- NEM 3.0 export credit vs. NEM 2.0
- Usually below retail
- CPUC: Net Billing Tariff export credits are usually lower than the retail rate but can rise above it on late summer evenings; NEM 2.0 credited exports near the retail rate
- PG&E Base Services Charge rollout
- March 2026
- Confirmed on PG&E's own billing page, replaces the prior Minimum Electric Charge. pge.com, fetched 2026-09-05.
- Max system size without special attestation
- 150% of trailing 12-month usage
- CPUC Solar Consumer Protection Guide: system can be sized up to annual usage plus up to 50% if you attest to expected increase (EV, heat pump, etc.). cpuc.ca.gov, fetched 2026-09-05.
Sources are listed at the foot of this page.
Step 1: Check for the new fixed charge first
This is very likely the answer for most people reading this. Under Assembly Bill 205 (2022), the CPUC ordered PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E to add a flat, mandatory monthly charge that every customer pays regardless of usage — solar owners included, regardless of how little grid energy they draw. The CPUC decision approved rates of up to $6.00/month for Tier 1 (CARE, under 200% of the federal poverty line), $12.00/month for Tier 2 (FERA), and $24.15/month for Tier 3 (everyone else). The utilities originally asked for far more (PG&E requested $53, SDG&E $74, SCE $49 average) and the CPUC cut those requests down (Utility Dive, citing the CPUC decision).
PG&E's own billing page confirms its version — branded the "Base Services Charge" — started March 2026 at $24.00/month standard, $6.00 CARE, $12.00 FERA, and states plainly that solar customers pay it because they "still use the electric grid." It replaced PG&E's prior Minimum Electric Charge outright. Treat $24.00 as the number that actually shows up on a PG&E bill — the $24.15 figure is the ceiling the CPUC's decision approved, not a separate charge stacked on top of it. SDG&E's Base Services Charge started in October 2025 and SCE's in November 2025, and both utilities say it replaced their minimum charge (sdge.com and sce.com, checked September 24, 2026); check your own bill for the exact amount. If your bill grew by roughly $15-$24 a month compared to a year ago and nothing else about your usage changed, this charge is almost certainly why, and no amount of solar production offsets it — it's billed whether you draw one kilowatt-hour from the grid or zero.
Step 2: Look for non-bypassable charges on every imported kWh
Your bill likely carries four charges with names like Public Purpose Program Charge (PPPC), Nuclear Decommissioning Charge (NDC), Competition Transition Charge (CTC), and Wildfire Fund Charge (WFC). Under the old NEM 1.0 and 2.0 tariffs, these applied only to your net metered consumption — solar production could reduce or fully cancel them out. Under the Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3.0, in effect for systems interconnected after April 15, 2023), the CPUC's own program page confirms these charges now apply to every kilowatt-hour you pull from the grid, full stop. Solar export credits can no longer offset them.
This creates what several industry sources call a bill floor — a per-kWh charge your solar production cannot touch, no matter how well the system performs. This page does not print a combined cents-per-kWh rate from a current PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E tariff sheet, so pull up your own bill, find the line items named above, and add them up over a billing cycle. That total is money your panels cannot save you, by design of the current tariff structure, not by any flaw in your installation.
Step 3: See what replaced your old minimum charge
Before the changes above, CA utility bills commonly carried a smaller "Minimum Delivery Charge" or "Minimum Electric Charge" — historically in the roughly $10/month range on most residential rate plans, though the exact prior amount varied by utility and plan and we don't have a verified figure to cite for your specific tariff. PG&E, SCE and SDG&E each say their Base Services Charge replaced that older minimum charge, at a meaningfully higher rate (checked September 24, 2026).
If you're comparing a 2026 bill to a 2023 or 2024 bill and see a small line item you recognize has vanished and a larger, differently-named one has taken its place, that's not a billing error and it's not something your installer did — it's the same functional charge, restructured and increased under the CPUC's 2025-2026 rollout. Confirm this by pulling an old bill and a current one side by side and matching the line items; the naming convention differs slightly by utility, so look for anything labeled "Base Services," "Minimum Delivery," or "Minimum Electric" rather than assuming it disappeared.
Step 4: Check whether your system matches your actual usage
The CPUC's own Solar Consumer Protection Guide states plainly that it is "generally not in your financial interest to install a solar system that produces more energy than you will use over the course of a year" — and under the Net Billing Tariff, a system can be sized up to your trailing 12-month usage plus up to 50% if you attested at installation to an expected increase (a new EV, heat pump, home addition, and so on).
Pull your true-up statement or your utility's annual usage summary and compare it to your system's rated annual production. Two failure modes both show up as "my bill is still high": a system sized to your old usage that's now working against a household that uses more power than it did at signing, or a system sized near the 150%-of-usage ceiling that's producing surplus power credited at NEM 3.0's low export rate instead of offsetting retail-priced consumption. Either way, this is a sizing-and-usage mismatch, not evidence the system is broken or underperforming.
Step 5: Compare your export credit to your import rate
Under the Net Billing Tariff, the CPUC values every kilowatt-hour you export using the Avoided Cost Calculator (ACC) — an hour-by-hour, month-by-month estimate of what that power is worth to the grid, not the retail rate you pay to import it. The CPUC says these export credits are usually lower than the retail rate, where NEM 2.0 credited exports near the retail rate. The ACC does spike at certain hours (one documented example: PG&E valued exports at $2.87/kWh during the 7-8pm hour in September) but sits near zero for most of the day, especially midday, which is exactly when most rooftop solar produces.
Any credit still unused after 12 months converts at the annual true-up to Net Surplus Compensation (NSC), a wholesale-based rate of roughly $0.02-$0.03/kWh — a small fraction of even the reduced NEM 3.0 export rate. If your system exports heavily at midday and your household draws power mostly in the evening, this gap — not a defect — is the largest structural reason your bill doesn't shrink the way a NEM 2.0 neighbor's did.
Step 6: Rule out a genuine usage increase since installation
An EV, a heat pump, a pool pump, an added bedroom, or simply more people working from home can meaningfully raise annual consumption after a system was designed and permitted. If your system was sized to your usage at the time of the sale and your usage has grown since, you're now buying more grid power at full retail rate than the original design assumed — which compounds both the fixed-charge floor in Step 1 and the non-bypassable-charge floor in Step 2.
Check your utility's usage history (most portals show a 12-24 month graph) for a step-change that lines up with when you added a major new electric load. If you find one, the fix is usually a system expansion or a rate-plan review, not a complaint against the installer — the original sizing may have been correct for the household that existed at the time of signing.
Step 7: Remember the annual true-up settles separately from your monthly bill
Under Net Billing, your monthly bill credits and charges accumulate all year and settle in a single annual true-up statement, confirmed on the CPUC's own program page. A bill that looks high in July or August is not necessarily your final number for the year — but it also isn't refunded to you until the true-up date arrives, so your month-to-month cash flow can feel considerably worse than your actual annual net cost.
Before concluding something is wrong, pull your most recent true-up statement (not just a monthly bill) and look at the 12-month net. If that number is reasonable and the monthly swings are the main complaint, the system may be performing fine and the frustration is a timing-and-cash-flow issue rather than a sizing or performance problem — worth knowing before you spend money chasing a fix you don't need.
Diagnostic order: work through these in sequence before assuming your system is the problem
| Step | Check this | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New fixed monthly charge (Base Services Charge or equivalent) on your bill | $6-$24/month depending on income tier, charged regardless of solar production (PG&E's live billing page shows $24.00 standard / $12.00 FERA / $6.00 CARE; the underlying CPUC decision approved a $24.15 cap) — likely the single biggest driver of a higher bill since 2025-2026 (PG&E; CPUC decision via Utility Dive, as of 2026-09-05) |
| 2 | Non-bypassable charge line items: PPPC, NDC, CTC, WFC | Now billed on every kWh imported from the grid under NEM 3.0, not just net usage — solar can no longer zero these out (CPUC Net Billing page, as of 2026-09-05) |
| 3 | Whether your old Minimum Electric/Delivery Charge was replaced | Same billing slot, larger number — not a new problem, a renamed and increased one (PG&E, as of 2026-09-05) |
| 4 | System's rated annual production vs. your trailing 12-month usage | Oversizing wastes money at NEM 3.0's low export rate; undersizing means you're buying more retail power than designed for (CPUC Solar Consumer Protection Guide, as of 2026-09-05) |
| 5 | Export credit rate (cents/kWh) vs. your retail import rate | NEM 3.0 export credits run roughly 75% below NEM 2.0 levels — a structural gap, not a billing error (multiple sources, as of 2026-09-05) |
| 6 | New major electric loads added after install (EV, heat pump, addition) | Usage growth since sizing compounds every charge above |
| 7 | Your annual true-up statement, not just a monthly bill | Monthly credits and charges settle once a year — a high month isn't your final number, but it also isn't refunded until true-up (CPUC Net Billing page, as of 2026-09-05) |
When this is the wrong move
Most of this doesn't apply if you're served by a publicly owned utility — LADWP, SMUD, MID, Anaheim, Roseville, Lodi, Imperial Irrigation District, or Turlock Irrigation District. These utilities set their own rates and terms and are not subject to CPUC's NEM 3.0 or the AB 205 fixed charge, so a high bill there has a different cause.
If you're grandfathered onto NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 (typically systems interconnected before April 15, 2023), the export-rate gap in Step 5 mostly doesn't apply to you — you're still credited close to retail. If your annual true-up nets out reasonably once credits settle, a high mid-year monthly bill is a cash-flow timing artifact, not a sign anything is broken. And if your usage genuinely grew since installation, that's an expected sizing mismatch to fix with an expansion or rate review, not evidence of a bad system or a bad sale.
Frequently asked questions
Is NEM 3.0 the reason my solar bill is still high?
It's one of several reasons, and usually not the biggest one. The new income-graduated fixed charge (Step 1) and non-bypassable charges (Step 2) affect every solar customer at PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E regardless of NEM version; the NEM 3.0 export-rate cut (Step 5) only matters if you interconnected after April 15, 2023 or opted into Net Billing.
What is the Base Services Charge on my PG&E bill?
PG&E's name for the CPUC-mandated fixed monthly charge under AB 205: $24.00 standard, $12.00 for FERA/deed-restricted affordable housing, $6.00 for CARE customers, effective March 2026. It replaced PG&E's prior Minimum Electric Charge and applies whether or not you have solar.
Does the new fixed charge apply to me if I'm not with PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E?
No. AB 205's fixed-charge mandate applies only to the three CPUC-regulated investor-owned utilities. Publicly owned utilities like LADWP, SMUD, and the others listed above set their own tariffs and are not covered.
Will the annual true-up refund the high months?
It nets your credits and charges over the year into one settlement, so a high summer bill can be offset by lower-usage months — but you don't see that offset until the true-up date, and any unused credit converts to Net Surplus Compensation at a low wholesale-based rate rather than a full refund.
Should I add a battery to fix a high bill?
A battery can help you use your own midday production in the evening instead of exporting it at a low NEM 3.0 credit and buying it back at retail rate later — but whether that pencils out depends on your usage pattern and the battery's cost, and it won't touch the fixed charge or the non-bypassable charges, which are billed regardless.
How do I know if my system was undersized?
Compare your true-up statement's annual usage to your system's rated annual production. If your usage grew after installation (new EV, heat pump, etc.) without the system being expanded, you're likely buying more retail grid power than the original design assumed — that's a sizing-versus-usage gap, not necessarily a defective installation.
The bottom line
Most "my solar bill is still high" complaints trace to CPUC-mandated changes that hit every account, not to a bad install: check the new fixed charge and non-bypassable charges first, then sizing, export rate, usage growth, and the true-up — in that order.
Have your bill reviewed
Start with the utility on your bill and what you pay in a typical month. Contact details come after that. The calculators and checklists on this page stay usable without submitting anything.
California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. California Rate Relief is compensated by a solar provider when a homeowner we refer signs an agreement. How we make money
Before you send anything
- What this is
- California Rate Relief is a private referral service. It is not a contractor, does not install or finance anything, and is not a utility, a government agency or an assistance program.
- What happens after the form
- Your project details are recorded for referral to a solar provider. The provider decides whether it can help and what it can offer; availability, design and price are determined after its own review.
- How you are contacted
- Read the consent wording before submitting. Your inquiry includes contact details for follow-up about the project; a provider decides whether it can serve it.
- Using the site without submitting
- The calculators, bill comparisons and checklists on this site work without contact details, and nothing on this page requires a submission.
Related reading
Sources
Rates and incentive programs change. Each figure above traces to one of these.
- CPUC — Net Energy Metering and Net Billing cpuc.ca.govverified Sep 8, 2026 — Non-bypassable charges applying to all imported energy under Net Billing Tariff; April 15 2023 cutover; annual true-up and Net Surplus Compensation (~$0.02-$0.03/kWh); NBT scope limited to PG&E/SCE/SDG&E — checked 2026-09-05
- CPUC — California Solar Consumer Protection Guide cpuc.ca.govverified Sep 8, 2026 — System sizing guidance: not in customer's interest to oversize; 150%-of-usage cap with attestation — checked 2026-09-05
- PG&E — Base Services Charge pge.comverified Sep 8, 2026 — Fixed charge amounts by tier ($24.00/$12.00/$6.00), March 2026 rollout, replacement of prior Minimum Electric Charge, "still use the electric grid" language — checked 2026-09-05
- Utility Dive — California PUC approves income-based fixed charge utilitydive.comverified Sep 8, 2026 — CPUC-approved $24.15 uniform cap and low-income discount tiers; utilities' original higher requests ($53/$74/$49); AB 205 basis; SCE/SDG&E "late 2025" and PG&E "early 2026" rollout language — checked 2026-09-05
- California Legislative Information — Business & Professions Code § 7169 leginfo.legislature.ca.govverified Sep 8, 2026 — Statutory basis for the solar disclosure document consumers can check against original savings assumptions — checked 2026-09-05
- CSLB — Solar Requirements cslb.ca.govverified Sep 8, 2026 — Disclosure document requirements for reviewing original sales assumptions — checked 2026-09-05