Palm Springs' Electricity Providers: Desert Community Energy and SCE
Palm Springs homes get their electricity from two providers on one SCE bill: SCE delivers it, and Desert Community Energy supplies the generation by default. SCE's average residential rate was 34.4¢ per kWh as of June 1, 2026 (CPUC Public Advocates Office), and most of its customers also pay a fixed $24.15 a month.
Who supplies electricity in Palm Springs
SCE delivers power to Palm Springs homes, reads the meter and sends the bill; Desert Community Energy supplies the generation by default, because the CEC's load-serving map places the city in its area. The Palm Springs bill lists SCE delivery charges and DCE generation charges separately.
What electricity costs in Palm Springs
SCE's average residential rate was 34.4¢ per kWh as of June 1, 2026 (CPUC Public Advocates Office), plus a fixed $24.15 a month ($12.08 on FERA, $6.00 on CARE) under CPUC Decision 24-05-028. Its residential plans include time-of-use plans TOU-D-4-9PM and TOU-D-5-8PM, TOU-D-PRIME for homes with an electric vehicle, a battery or an electric heat pump, and a tiered plan. The California utility rate tracker compares the large utilities.
SCE's Index of Communities puts Palm Springs in baseline region 15. Region 15 (hot): 45 kWh a day June to September, 9.7 kWh a day October to May. That baseline is billed at 30¢ per kWh on the tiered plan and use above it at 40¢, as SCE posted them on Sept. 24, 2026.
Discounts and solar billing
CARE takes 30–35% off and FERA 18% off for eligible households, according to the CPUC, and new solar customers go on its Net Billing Tariff, whose export credit the CPUC says is usually below the retail rate. SCE's assistance page has the application. DCE credits the generation part of a solar bill under its own terms. Installers active here are on the Palm Springs solar companies page; prices and permits on the Palm Springs solar cost page.
Reading a Palm Springs solar bill
If your SCE bill includes Desert Community Energy, show DCE generation and SCE delivery separately. DCE has parallel solar programs and its own annual generation true-up. Confirm the service plan and existing solar status; an export credit on one portion does not automatically pay charges on the other.
How Desert Community Energy settles a solar account
Desert Community Energy says Palm Springs chose to enroll every residential and commercial customer automatically, so your SCE bill shows DCE for generation and SCE for transmission and delivery; DCE stresses that customers are not charged twice. Systems that received permission to operate before April 15, 2023 keep NEM 1.0 or 2.0 for the life of their term; newer systems are on SCE's Solar Billing Plan.
DCE settles generation charges and credits monthly and trues up every solar account in May. Surplus is paid at DCE's Net Surplus Compensation rate, which matches SCE's; credits under $100 roll to the next bill and $100 or more is cashed out. For a seasonal home, ask each bidder to model the months you are actually there: power exported while the house sits empty earns export credits, which SCE says are worth less than the power you buy.
If the bill itself is the problem, start with why California electric bills run high and the SCE high-bill breakdown.
Palm Springs electricity questions
Who provides electricity in Palm Springs?
SCE delivers the power and sends the bill; Desert Community Energy supplies the generation by default. Both appear as separate charges on the SCE bill.
What is SCE's baseline allowance in Palm Springs?
SCE's Index of Communities puts Palm Springs in baseline region 15. The summer allowance is 45 kWh a day in region 15; that much is billed at the lower tier on SCE's tiered plan.
Sources
- California Energy Commission: Electric Load Serving Entities (IOU & POU) map layer, queried at the city's Census point (checked 2026-09-24)
- California Energy Commission: Electric Load Serving Entities (Other, including CCAs) map layer, queried at the city's Census point (checked 2026-09-24)
- Desert Community Energy: service area (checked 2026-09-23)
- CPUC Public Advocates Office, Q2 2026 Electric Rates Report (residential average rates) (checked 2026-09-24)
- CPUC Decision 24-05-028 (income-graduated fixed charge: $24.15, $12.08, $6.00) (checked 2026-09-24)
- CPUC: CARE/FERA Program (discounts; income limits June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027) (checked 2026-09-24)
- CPUC: Net Energy Metering and Net Billing (checked 2026-09-24)
- SCE: Time-of-Use residential rate plans (checked 2026-09-24)
- SCE tariff: Index of Communities, baseline regions (Cal. PUC Sheet 53902-E) (checked 2026-09-24)
- SCE: Tiered Rate Plan (daily baseline allocations by region; prices as posted) (checked 2026-09-24)
- DCE: solar customers and billing (checked 2026-09-23)
Check a Solar Quote Against Your Palm Springs Bill
Enter your bill and the terms from a lease, PPA or loan quote. The tool adds up the contract's payments; it does not predict savings.
SCE average residential rate: 34.4¢/kWh as of June 1, 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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