Oakland's Electricity Providers: Ava Community Energy and PG&E
Oakland homes get their electricity from two providers on one bill: PG&E delivers it, maintains the lines and sends the statement, and Ava Community Energy supplies the generation, on its Bright Choice plan unless a household chose otherwise. On the joint comparison PG&E and Ava publish, a home on PG&E's common E-TOU-C plan using 338 kWh a month comes to $138.33 on Bright Choice and $138.52 with PG&E generation.
Who provides electricity in Oakland
Ava Community Energy is a not-for-profit local government agency and the default electricity provider for most of Alameda County. It buys the power; PG&E delivers it and bills for both. Oakland's default residential plan is Bright Choice, which Ava prices 0.5% below PG&E's equivalent rate, fees included. Renewable 100, its 100% renewable plan, costs 1¾ cents more per kWh than PG&E. You can change plans at any time or choose PG&E generation, and households on CARE, FERA or Medical Baseline are placed on Bright Choice whatever their city's default.
On the California Energy Commission's utility map, PG&E's territory covers about 91% of Oakland's land, and Ava's service area the same part of the city. The other 9% is the Port of Oakland's area, which the map shows as the Port's own publicly owned utility. The name on your bill settles which one serves you.
What an Oakland electric bill costs
PG&E and Ava's joint rate comparison, using PG&E rates as of March 2026 and Ava rates as of January 2026, prices a typical month on E-TOU-C, the most common PG&E schedule, at 338 kWh: $138.52 with PG&E generation, $138.33 on Bright Choice and $144.43 on Renewable 100. On the tiered E-1 plan at 371 kWh the figures are $154.10, $153.88 and $160.59, and a CARE household on E-TOU-C using 347 kWh pays $78.59, $78.39 or $84.66. The comparison leaves out the California Climate Credit.
In March 2026 PG&E moved some fixed costs out of the per-kWh price and into a Base Services Charge of about $24 a month, about $6 on CARE and $12 on FERA. PG&E says the price of each kWh is lower in exchange, but whether a household's total falls depends on its usage. Across PG&E's territory, the CPUC Public Advocates Office put the residential average rate at 33.7 cents per kWh in June 2026, unchanged since March.
Read next: How Ava's charges appear on a PG&E bill · Why a PG&E bill runs high
Solar on an Ava account
Ava says solar customers who applied for interconnection before April 15, 2023 are on NEM 1.0 or 2.0 for 20 years, and later systems are on the Solar Billing Plan. Under NEM, Ava and PG&E each credit exports at their own retail rate against their own charges, and there are two annual true-ups: Ava's every April, and PG&E's in a month set by your account.
Ava bills its NEM customers monthly for any generation charges their credits do not cover, unless they choose annual billing by February 28 or 29. At the April true-up, surplus is paid at Ava's Net Surplus Compensation rate, which Ava says is generally lower than the retail rate: as a bill credit for balances under $100 and as a payment above that. No solar credit can pay PG&E's Base Services Charge.
Read next: How PG&E's Solar Billing Plan works · Net billing vs. net metering
If the bill itself is the problem, start with why California electric bills run high and the PG&E high-bill breakdown.
Oakland electricity questions
Who is the electricity provider in Oakland, California?
Two providers share the bill. PG&E delivers the power and sends the statement, and Ava Community Energy supplies the generation, on its Bright Choice plan by default. You can switch to Ava's Renewable 100 or to PG&E generation. The Port of Oakland's area has its own utility on the state's map.
What is the average electric bill in Oakland?
No official Oakland average is published. PG&E and Ava's joint comparison uses a typical month of 338 kWh on E-TOU-C, which comes to $138.33 on Bright Choice and $138.52 with PG&E generation. Your own usage and plan will differ, so your last twelve bills are the better guide.
Is Ava cheaper than PG&E?
On Bright Choice, slightly. Ava prices it 0.5% below PG&E's equivalent rate, which the joint comparison shows as $138.33 against $138.52 for a 338 kWh E-TOU-C month. Renewable 100 costs more: $144.43 for the same month.
When does Ava true up solar customers?
Every April, for all of its NEM customers. PG&E runs a separate true-up for delivery charges in a month set by your account, so an Oakland solar home can see two settlement bills a year.
Sources
- Ava Community Energy: How it works (checked 2026-09-23)
- Ava Community Energy: Who we serve (default plans by city) (checked 2026-09-23)
- Ava Community Energy: Plans and rates (checked 2026-09-23)
- Ava Community Energy: Net Energy Metering billing and true-up (checked 2026-09-23)
- PG&E and Ava: Joint Rate Comparisons (PG&E rates March 2026, Ava rates January 2026) (checked 2026-09-23)
- PG&E: Base Services Charge (checked 2026-09-23)
- CPUC Public Advocates Office, Q2 2026 Electric Rates Report (checked 2026-09-23)
- California Energy Commission: Electric Load Serving Entities (IOU & POU and CCA layers), queried 2026-09-23 (checked 2026-09-23)
Check a Solar Quote Against Your Oakland Bill
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PG&E average residential rate: 33.7¢/kWh as of June 2026 (CPUC Public Advocates Office). Your own rate plan may differ.
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The contract totals come only from the numbers you entered. A lease or PPA payment does not replace your whole bill: you still pay the utility for power the system does not cover, plus the $24.15 monthly fixed charge most PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers pay under CPUC Decision 24-05-028 (about $6 on CARE and $12 on FERA). Ask the provider for its production estimate and add those remaining charges before comparing the quote with your current bill.
The usage figure is a rough estimate from an average rate; the kWh on your own bill is more accurate.
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