ENROLLMENT
GreenSource: San José Clean Energy is the default electric generation service provider in the City of San José. Accounts within SJCE’s service area are automatically enrolled with SJCE’s GreenSource electricity generation service, beginning with municipal accounts in September 2018 and citywide residents and businesses in March 2019. Account holders may request to opt out.
SJ Cares: No action is required from the customer to enroll in SJ Cares. As new customers enroll in CARE or FERA, SJCE will continue to automatically enroll these customers in SJ Cares, with no action required from the customer. Indication of a customer’s enrollment in SJ Cares will take 1-2 billing cycles, depending on how close to the meter read date a customer’s CARE or FERA status is communicated to SJCE by PG&E.
TotalGreen: TotalGreen is SJCE’s premium service option under which customers receive 100% renewable energy. When enrolled, TotalGreen will represent 100% of a customer’s monthly consumed electricity. The agreement to buy this product is on a month-to-month basis and can be cancelled at any time. A customer enrolled in TotalGreen may, at any time, at no cost or penalty opt down to San José Clean Energy’s default product (GreenSource), effective three months from the next meter read date.
SJ CARES APPLICABILITY
San José Clean Energy (SJCE) established the SJ Cares program in May 2021 to allow customers enrolled in financial assistance programs CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy) and FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance) to receive SJCE service at discounted rates.
Eligibility for SJ Cares is based on enrollment in CARE or FERA financial assistance programs. If a customer is no longer enrolled in CARE or FERA, they will receive a 12-week grace period to re-enroll though PG&E. After the grace period has ended and if the customer has not re-enrolled in CARE or FERA, they will be automatically moved to the standard GreenSource generation charges.
RATES
San José Clean Energy (SJCE) electric generation rates are managed with the intention of providing cleaner electricity at competitive rates. Rates may be subject to change over time. TotalGreen will cost a surcharge of $0.01 per kWh for all kWh usage during a billing period (for all rate classes). Any changes to rates, including the TotalGreen surcharge, will be adopted at duly noticed public meetings of the San José City Council. San José Clean Energy customers will be responsible for paying all applicable local, state and federal taxes and charges for electricity, including the utility user’s tax. PG&E charges SJCE customers a monthly Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) and Franchise Fee Surcharge. Please contact PG&E for more information about these charges. SJCE has already accounted for these additional charges in calculating rates. View SJCE rates online at SanJoseCleanEnergy.org or call (833)-432-2454 for more information. These rates and cost comparisons may change over time. Financial assistance programs like CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy), FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance) and Medical Baseline Allowance remain the same with SJCE. If you are enrolled in any of these programs with PG&E, those programs will continue to apply to you as an SJCE customer.
BILLING
You will receive a single monthly bill from PG&E that includes all electricity related charges, including SJCE electric generation charges. The TotalGreen surcharge will appear as a line item charge on the San José Clean Energy Electric Generation portion of your PG&E bill. PG&E forwards payments for SJCE generation to SJCE. PG&E will continue to charge for transmission, distribution, public goods programs and other non-generation charges at the same rates it charges customers who do not receive SJCE service. SJ Cares customers will not see SJ Cares as a line item on their bill. Instead, there will be text about SJ Cares in the middle of the SJCE page of their bill. Through SJ Cares, CARE or FERA customers will automatically receive the renewable energy content of GreenSource for the lowest price.
Opt Out
You may request to opt out of SJCE electric generation service by calling (833)-432-2454 or at SanJoseCleanEnergy.org. There is no fee to completely opt out of San José Clean Energy generation service. Those that terminate TotalGreen will be returned to San José Clean Energy’s default product mix (GreenSource) at no cost effective three months from the next meter read date. Please have your PG&E account information on hand to process your request. Please be advised that if you do opt out and return to PG&E, you will not have the option to return to SJCE for a full year and will be subject to PG&E’s terms and conditions of service. Additionally, PG&E requires that SJCE customers use one of the following options for returning to PG&E generation service: Option 1) Return to PG&E generation service at the end of your current billing cycle on PG&E’s transition rate for a six-month period and standard rates thereafter; or Option 2) Return to PG&E generation service, after six months’ notice, on PG&E standard rates. For more information on PG&E’s terms and conditions, visit www.pge.com/cca. Accounts will be transferred on the day the electric meter is read and cannot be transferred mid-billing cycle. Opt out requests received at least 5 days prior to a customer’s meter read date will be processed for that meter read date; all other opt out requests will be processed on the subsequent meter read date. Customers who opt out or otherwise stop receiving service from SJCE will be charged for all SJCE electricity used before ending SJCE electric service. There is no fee to restart SJCE service for customers who wish to return to SJCE service after waiting the full year after opt out.
CHANGING YOUR SERVICE OPTION
Customers may change their service option at any time. The new rates will begin to appear on your PG&E bill within one to two months, depending on the timing of your billing cycle. Enrollment requests received at least 5 days prior to your meter read date will be processed for that meter read date and may appear on the next month’s bill. All other enrollment requests will be processed on the subsequent meter read date and may appear on the bill within two months.
FAILURE TO PAY
San José Clean Energy may transfer your account to PG&E upon 14 calendar days’ written notice if you fail to pay your bill. If your service is transferred, you will be required to pay for all SJCE charges incurred prior to the transfer of your service to PG&E.
CUSTOMER PRIVACY POLICY
San José Clean Energy’s policy on Customer Confidentiality can be found at www.Sanjosecleanenergy.org/customer-confidentiality or by calling (833)-432-2454.
