The High Usage Charge is based on electricity use and applies to the ‘standard’ residential tiered plan. To avoid the charge you need to use less than 400% of your baseline allowance. You can also change your pricing plan to a Time-of-Use plan as they are not subject to the High Usage Charge. You can evaluate your available options in My Account. 

Hotter weather drives up energy use, and combined with summer pricing, customers can see higher bills than normal. The increased pricing stems from a rise in electricity prices in the summer across the state as the weather heats up and there is a high demand for energy.

No. SDG&E does not profit from the sale of electricity to our customers, per state law. The cost of the electricity we purchase for our customers is a direct pass through onto customer bills.

There are some immediate benefits with Time-of-Use pricing plans over the ‘standard’ tiered plan:

• No High Usage Charge – Time-of-Use plans do not have a High Usage Charge, so if a customer anticipates continuing to use high amounts of energy, they may save each month on one of these plans.
• Simple shifts can equal savings – Shifting simple chores like laundry and running your dishwasher to before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m. can reduce your monthly bill on a Time-of-Use plan. Outside of the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. timeframe, prices are lower, which provides a second opportunity to save. On a standard plan, the price is the same every hour of the day.
• Try “A/C pre-cooling” – Take advantage of cheaper “off-peak” prices outside of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to pre-cool your home or business, then turn up the thermostat from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to gain some savings.

Learn more about Time-of-Use at sdge.com/whenmatters.

We’ve developed and received approval on several solutions that take effect in 2020.  

• Adjustment to the timing of the California Climate Credit for all residential customers: The electric credit will now be applied to residential customers' bills in August and September, instead of April and October, to help offset summer bills.  

• Reduction in summer pricing for TOU-DR1: Effective July 1, customers on this plan will see a 5% reduction on average in summer energy pricing. This lower price can help reduce spikes in summer bills, especially with more of us at home. This decrease in summer pricing will be offset by an increase of 4% during winter pricing months, November 1 through May 31. 

• Elimination of the High Usage Charge for Standard DR pricing plan: With more of us staying home in 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission), has temporarily reduced the High Usage Charge by 30% through October 31. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the Commission on a more permanent decision.  

• Elimination of seasonal pricing for Standard DR pricing plan: Effective June 1, this pricing plan has one rate year-round*. In past years, the summer change reflected the increase in demand and costs for electricity as more people sought relief from hotter summer temperatures. Now those costs will be spread throughout the year creating a flatter rate that may result in lower bills in the summer, offset by slightly higher bills in the winter, assuming no change in usage 

*Rates are subject to change by CPUC order.