Solar Customers, it is Time to True-Up!

April is the time of year when San José Clean Energy (SJCE) solar panel customers will true-up their balances with SJCE for the year. If you used more electricity than your panels generated, you will see a charge in May. If you used less electricity than your panels generated, you will get a check in June.

You’re Receiving Cleaner Energy

SJCE is San José’s local, not-for-profit electricity provider operated by the City of San José. Together, SJCE and PG&E provide your electric service. SJCE generates your electricity from clean sources. This includes usage not covered by your panels. PG&E delivers the electricity to you over its poles and wires. You have always paid for generation and delivery. You are not being double charged; SJCE replaces what you would have paid to PG&E for generation. For your convenience, your PG&E bill includes SJCE charges.

What is a true-up?

PG&E sends SJCE solar customers monthly statements that show a running balance of electricity used and generated. It is not a bill. Instead, every April, we settle the previous 12-months of SJCE charges and credits. We bill solar customers that use more electricity than their panels generate, and we send checks to solar customers that generated more electricity than they used. This once-a-year process is called a true-up.  

Since both SJCE and PG&E provide your electric service, you have two true-up dates – one with SJCE for electric generation, and one with PG&E for electric delivery.

Net energy graphic

How do my annual true-ups work as an SJCE customer?

SJCE Generation True-up 

  • You will true-up for SJCE generation charges every April. If you use more electricity than their panels generate, you will see a charge on your May bill.
  • True-up charges are listed in the “Details of San Jose Clean Energy Charges” section of your bill.

PG&E Delivery True-up

  • If you already had solar when you were enrolled with SJCE, your PG&E true-up occurs during your month of enrollment with SJCE. We enrolled customers with rooftop solar into our generation service in four phases in 2020-2021.
  • We enrolled non-solar customers in February 2019. If you installed solar after being enrolled with SJCE, your PG&E true-up is the month your system began operating.
  • For more information about our enrollment, visit our Rooftop Solar page or call Customer Service at 833-432-2454.
  • True-up charges are listed on the “Details of PG&E Charges” section of your bill.

IMPORTANT

We will true-up many SJCE customers for the first time this April. Several customers will see more than 12 months of SJCE true-up charges. Some may see as many as 20 months. This is because SJCE policy is to wait until customers have 10 months or more of billing history before their first SJCE true-up. This allows new solar customers to benefit from their NEM program in the summer, when excess credits are often generated, and in the winter, when credits are often used up.

Who isn’t being trued-up this April?

If your solar system began operating after June 1, 2021, your SJCE charges will be trued-up for the first time in April 2023.

What are my billing options?

As a default, residential solar customers receive a monthly statement and are only billed annually at their true-up. We also offer the option of monthly billing. This option may benefit customers who do not want a single large annual bill. Please contact Customer Service at info@sanjosecleanenergy.org or (833) 432-2454 if you would like to enroll in monthly billing.

What if I’m a net generator?

You will receive a check from the City of San José in June for any leftover credits, which are cashed out at our Net Surplus Compensation (NSC) rate. For the true-up period ending in April 2022, our NSC rate is $0.05598 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Net generators can also choose to receive a bill credit instead of a check. Please contact Customer Service at info@sanjosecleanenergy.org or (833) 432- 2454 if you would rather receive a bill credit.

Choose 100% renewable energy

Thank you for installing solar and helping clean our air and fight climate change. You can take your commitment to clean energy to the next level by enrolling in our TotalGreen service at any time. When you draw from the grid, you’ll receive 100% renewable energy for $0.01/kWh extra – less than $3 per month for most solar customers. Visit SanJoseCleanEnergy.org/totalgreen or call (833) 432-2454 to enroll today.

We are here to help! Please contact us with questions at info@sanjosecleanenergy.org or (833) 432-2454.

Visit our Rooftop Solar page to learn more and sign up for our NEM newsletter.