Frequently Asked Questions

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a program that allows cities, counties and other authorized entities to purchase and/or generate electricity for residents and businesses located within the boundaries of their jurisdiction. It is not a SDG&E program. We’ll continue to operate the transmission and distribution of electricity and deliver safe and reliable electric service to you home.  We’ll also continue to provide billing, metering, collection and customer services for CCA participants.

SDG&E supports customer choice and encourages you to evaluate all options. Regardless of which energy service provider you choose, SDG&E remains committed to providing safe and reliable delivery of energy.

For more information on customer rights, obligations and updates regarding CCA programs, please visit the California Public Utilities Commission website.

Enrollment in CCA

Typically, if you reside within the CCA’s territory, you’re automatically enrolled in the CCA program on the next bill date after the CCA begins serving customers.  However, a CCA may choose to phase-in customer enrollment in the program.  CCAs are required to offer service to all residential customers and have the option to provide service to non-residential customers within its service territory.

The CCA will provide two notices during a 60-day period prior to the start of CCA service and at least two additional notices during a 60-day period after the start of CCA service. These notifications will include how you can opt out of the program if you choose.

 

Always contact us to start or stop electric service.  To start or stop service click here  or call 1-800-411-7343.  

If you move to a city or county that has established a CCA program, you’re automatically enrolled in the CCA program on the date you start service. You’ll receive at least two notifications from the CCA during the initial 60-day period after you start service.  These notifications will include how you can opt out of the program if you choose.

For information on active CCAs in our territory click here.

In some cases, customers identifying themselves in neighboring communities are located within the CCA’s jurisdictional area.  This may be the case if you reside in an unincorporated area of a county. If you believe your service location is ineligible for CCA service, please contact the CCA that sent you the program information.

No, your gas service will remain unchanged. If you receive your gas service from us, you’ll continue to see your gas charges on your bill.  You can contact us for any gas service requests.

Programs and Services

We’ll continue to manage the transmission, distribution and delivery of a CCA participant’s electricity.  This includes providing billing, metering, collection and customer services. Programs such as California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE), Medical Baseline, Level Pay Plans, My Account and some demand response and energy efficiency programs are still available to CCA participants. The CCA may offer different programs than those provided by us.

The following SDG&E programs are not offered for CCA participants:

  • EcoChoice
  • EcoShare
  • Reduce Your Use Rewards (ends for all SDG&E customers on 12/31/2018)
  • Direct Access 

If your choice is to remain on CCA, you’ll be removed from these programs.  

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Billing and Rates

Yes. We’ll continue to provide billing, metering collection, customer service, and other services to customers participating in a CCA program. Each month, the CCA will calculate its charges for electric generation and send them to SDG&E. We’ll then include the CCA electric generation charges on your monthly SDG&E bill.  After we receive customer payments, we’ll transfer payments for CCA charges to the CCA.

Also note that if you take service from a CCA, you’ll no longer pay our rates for electric generation; instead you pay the CCA’s generation rates. A CCA may charge different electric generation rates than us, which leads to a change in the charges on your overall electric bill. A CCA will choose the power generation source on behalf of its customers. CCA providers may procure a different mix of energy resources than SDG&E’s resources.

 

 

If you’re receiving electric generation from a CCA, you’ll receive a consolidated bill from SDG&E that includes both the electric delivery charges from us and the electric generation charges from the CCA. These charges will appear as separate line items on the bill, and both will be included in the total amount due.

The “Electric Service” details of the bill will show our electric delivery charges including any applicable taxes and fees.  This section of the bill will also show your electric generation charges. These charges are then backed out with the Electric Generation Credit, which means the “Total Electric Service” line item excludes generation costs, as these charges are provided by your CCA. Details of the CCA electric generation charges appear on the bill under the heading of “Energy Service Provider (ESP) Electric Charges”. This is not a duplicate charge on your bill. The CCA’s name and phone number are also provided. 

 

Participants in a CCA will not pay SDG&E’s electricity generation charges, but instead will pay the CCA’s electric generation charges. The electricity for everyone participating in the CCA will be delivered using our electrical transmission and distribution system. Regardless of the Electric Service Provider, everyone is required to pay SDG&E delivery charges, whether the electricity is purchased from SDG&E or a CCA. For a comparison of SDG&E and CCA rates, visit our joint rate comparison page. 

When utilities purchase electricity, they do so in long-term contracts meant to secure enough energy to service the number of customers they have, per state requirements. When customers move to CCAs, the California Public Utilities Commission requires that those departing customers do not burden remaining utility customers with costs that were paid to procure energy to serve them.  To prevent cost shifting from one group of customers to another, CCA customers are required to pay PCIA.  The PCIA is a separate line item on the bill for customers receiving CCA service.

The portion of SDG&E’s generation rate that needs to be recouped through the PCIA depends on the year that you began receiving electric generation from the CCA.  This year is your Vintage Rate. 

While your vintage year remains the same, the PCIA charge for the vintage year will likely change annually. Schedule CCA-CRS provides information on the current PCIA charges by vintage year.

If you have questions about the SDG&E charges on your bill, you should contact us at 1-800-411-7343.  Also contact us if you have questions related to changes to your pricing plan, or CARE and Medical Baseline.  

If you have questions about the CCA charges on your bill, CCA rates or programs, you should contact your CCA.  You can find your CCA’s contact information on our Active CCAs web page. 

Customer should call SDG&E or visit myaccount.sdge.com when requesting a rate plan change.

Opt-out Information

You may opt out of a CCA program beginning at least 60 days before your account is scheduled to switch to the CCA provider and any time after. After 60 days of CCA service, there may be charges or conditions from SDG&E or the CCA.

Opt-outs will take effect at the end of your current billing cycle. If you request to opt out of a CCA program and your CCA sends SDG&E the request less than five days before their meter-read date, you may see an additional month of CCA charges on your bill.

If this occurs, you would then be returned to SDG&E’s bundled service on your next scheduled meter-read date. If you opt out, SDG&E will continue to provide the transmission and distribution services and resume procuring electric generation for you.

You can contact your CCA to opt out as we cannot process any opt out requests.

Yes.  Customers who opt out of a CCA program can join the program later.  However, if you opt out of a CCA program after the first 60 days of service with the CCA, you’ll be required to remain with SDG&E’s bundled service for one year. You must contact the CCA program to join the CCA again after you’ve opted out.

You have the right to return to SDG&E’s bundled service at any time and can return during the notification period without terms or restrictions.

To opt out after the notification period, you should contact your CCA at least six months before the date you want to return to SDG&E. If you do not provide your CCA with a six-month notice, you will be billed the Transitional Bundled Service (TBS) rate for six months before returning to SDG&E bundled service.

This may be higher or lower than the bundled electric generation rate. You’re charged the TBS rate until six months after we receive the opt-out service request from your CCA. Afterward, you’ll pay the bundled electric generation rate, like SDG&E customers in your customer class (residential or business).

If you opt out of CCA after the notification period, you’ll be required to make a 12-month commitment to SDG&E’s bundled service.  Time spent on the TBS rate counts towards the 12-month commitment.

Net Energy Metering

If your city or county participates in a CCA and you are a NEM customer, you will automatically be enrolled in the CCA's NEM program, if one is available. SDG&E will perform an initial true-up when you are enrolled in the CCA. This ensures that you will have the same anniversary date on both the SDG&E and CCA NEM programs. SDG&E will continue to calculate your monthly charges or credits for delivery charges and will perform an annual true-up of those charges and credits. The CCA will be responsible for determining your generation-related charges and credits.

SDG&E’s NEM tariff, as approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, states that a true-up must occur for NEM customers at the time of their transition to a new electric service provider. This true-up results in a new anniversary date.

Unfortunately, you may not change your anniversary date. You are assigned a new anniversary date on the date you transfer to your new electric service provider.

After you transition to a CCA program, SDG&E will begin calculating the rolling credits for electric delivery only. Your generation credits will be maintained by your CCA. If you have questions about the CCA charges or credits on your bill, you will need to contact your CCA directly. 

As a NEM customer, you will continue to true up annually. After transitioning to a CCA program, you will no longer receive excess generation credits from SDG&E. Your CCA program will calculate your charges and credits and any applicable credit will be handled by your CCA.  If you have any questions about your NEM excess generation payout, you will need to contact your CCA directly.

A minimum monthly charge is still applicable for any months you over-generate.