A Year of Time-of-Use Electricity Rates

At this point, you’ve probably heard of time-of-use (TOU) electricity rates. This style rate plan is an important part of our transition to a clean energy future and can help you save money on your energy bill. TOU rate plans let customers take advantage of cheaper priced energy when the grid is cleanest.

In 2021, many SJCE customers were automatically transitioned to a TOU rate plan where rates are lower before 4:00 p.m. and after 9:00 p.m. These lower prices encourage energy use during times of the day that support a cleaner and more reliable energy grid.

To protect customers from paying more for electricity during this transition, we offered bill protection for the first 12 months on the TOU plan. This means customers will get money back if their first year of TOU service ended up being more expensive than their previous rate plan. Since most SJCE customers were transitioned in June 2021, bill protection will end in June 2022. If you spent more on the TOU plan, San José Clean Energy and PG&E will credit you the difference. You will see this credit on your July or August bill, depending on your billing cycle.

Most customers save money on a TOU rate plan without changing any of their habits. TOU rates aren’t about using less energy. Instead, try shifting your energy use to before 4:00 p.m. and after 9:00 p.m., when the electric grid is the cleanest and cheapest, to lower your energy bill.

If you did not save money on a TOU rate plan, consider shifting your energy use to off peak hours to find savings. If that isn’t feasible for your household, you can also run a personalized rate comparison in your PG&E account or by calling PG&E at (866) 743-7945. You can change your rate plan up to two times per year.

For more information on TOU and bill protection, visit SanJoseCleanEnergy.org/TOU or call SJCE customer service at (833) 432-2454.