Which California electricity plan is cheapest?
There is no single cheapest plan — it depends on when you use electricity. If you can move heavy use (EV charging, laundry, pre-cooling) out of the 4–9 p.m. peak, a time-of-use plan like E-TOU-C or EV2-A usually wins. If your usage is flat and high in the evening, a tiered plan can be cheaper. Use the calculator, then see how the plans rank for typical households below — all modeled by Energy Advisor's billing engine.
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Estimate uses a simplified two-period model (peak vs off-peak) on the 2026 published rates plus a representative climate-zone baseline. Your actual bill depends on your hourly usage — upload your bill for an exact answer.
How the plans rank for typical households
Annual cost modeled by Energy Advisor's billing engine across representative load profiles (synthetic, not customer data). Lower is better; "swing" is the gap between the best and worst plan.
Pacific Gas & Electric
| Household | Cheapest plan | Best / yr | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical home 550 kWh/mo · Modest evening peak, average usage. The most common shape. | E-TOU-C | $2,313 | $74 |
| Work-from-home 700 kWh/mo · Heavy midday load, lights and devices on all day. | EV2-A | $2,725 | $341 |
| EV owner — charges after work 900 kWh/mo · Plugs in at 6 p.m. — charging lands right in the peak window. | E-TOU-D | $3,960 | $145 |
| EV owner — charges overnight 900 kWh/mo · Schedules charging after midnight — almost all off-peak. | EV2-A | $3,339 | $711 |
| Hot inland home (heavy AC) 1100 kWh/mo · Big afternoon/evening AC load through the summer. | EV2-A | $4,520 | $514 |
Southern California Edison
| Household | Cheapest plan | Best / yr | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical home 550 kWh/mo · Modest evening peak, average usage. The most common shape. | Tiered (Schedule D) | $1,913 | $828 |
| Work-from-home 700 kWh/mo · Heavy midday load, lights and devices on all day. | Tiered (Schedule D) | $2,633 | $668 |
| EV owner — charges after work 900 kWh/mo · Plugs in at 6 p.m. — charging lands right in the peak window. | Tiered (Schedule D) | $3,593 | $1,356 |
| EV owner — charges overnight 900 kWh/mo · Schedules charging after midnight — almost all off-peak. | Tiered (Schedule D) | $3,593 | $708 |
| Hot inland home (heavy AC) 1100 kWh/mo · Big afternoon/evening AC load through the summer. | Tiered (Schedule D) | $4,553 | $1,013 |
San Diego Gas & Electric
| Household | Cheapest plan | Best / yr | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical home 550 kWh/mo · Modest evening peak, average usage. The most common shape. | Schedule DR | $2,948 | $432 |
| Work-from-home 700 kWh/mo · Heavy midday load, lights and devices on all day. | Schedule DR | $3,795 | $419 |
| EV owner — charges after work 900 kWh/mo · Plugs in at 6 p.m. — charging lands right in the peak window. | Schedule DR | $4,925 | $941 |
| EV owner — charges overnight 900 kWh/mo · Schedules charging after midnight — almost all off-peak. | Schedule DR | $4,925 | $376 |
| Hot inland home (heavy AC) 1100 kWh/mo · Big afternoon/evening AC load through the summer. | Schedule DR | $6,056 | $848 |
About this data
Plan rankings are computed by Energy Advisor using the same billing engine behind our free bill analysis, applied to representative synthetic household load profiles and 2026 published utility tariffs. No individual customer data is used or disclosed. Free to reuse with attribution.
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Data last updated June 18, 2026. Compiled by Energy Advisor from published utility tariffs.