South San Francisco, CA May 21, 2021 Press Release
In Support of Statewide Initiatives, PG&E and Peninsula Clean Energy Will Move Some Residential Customers in San Mateo County to a Time-of-Use Rate Plan in September 2021 to Encourage Energy Usage When Renewables are More Plentiful, and Demand is Lower
Customers Can Choose Their Preferred Rate Plan at Any Time
Customers Who Automatically Transition to the Time-of-Use Rate Plan Will Receive Risk-Free Bill Protection for the First Year
As part of a multi-year, statewide energy policy to create a cleaner energy future for California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Peninsula Clean Energy will move approximately 200,000 eligible residential electric customers currently on a tiered rate plan called E-1 to a Time-of-Use (TOU) rate plan in September 2021. On the Time-of-Use (Peak Pricing 4-9 p.m. Every Day) rate plan when customers use energy is as important as how much they use.
The transition to this Time-of-Use rate plan will occur by geographical region and affect approximately 2.5 million customers in PG&E’s service area in stages through 2022. Customers in San Mateo County will receive a series of notifications by mail starting this month to allow them ample time to make a choice if they prefer another rate plan. Customers can choose another rate plan at any time.
Customers are encouraged to shift some energy use to times when rates are lower, demand is lower and renewable resources, like solar and wind power, are most plentiful.
“To ensure our customers are fully aware of the transition to the Time-of-Use rate and how the program works, we’re communicating this change more than 90 days ahead, and we’ll continue to share information before each regional transition takes place,” said Laurie Giammona, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer for PG&E. “And, customers can choose the rate plan that best fits their needs and lives at any time.”
All California investor-owned electric utilities are required to automatically transition customers to the Time-of-Use rate plan to support a cleaner, healthier and more reliable energy grid. PG&E does not profit from this change. Customers can choose an alternate Time-of-Use rate plan or another rate plan, including the Tiered rate plan, at any time. Customers enrolled in the Medical Baseline program will not be part of the automatic transition.
“By encouraging energy use when solar generation is most abundant, this rate plan change will allow our customers to assert more control over meeting the aggressive clean power goals they desire and which we have been setting in place,” Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper said. “This nicely complements the track record of Peninsula Clean Energy and other community-based providers that are at the forefront of offering affordable and reliable emission-free power before it is too late to mitigate the most harmful effects of climate change.”
PG&E and Peninsula Clean Energy customers who automatically transition to this Time-of-Use rate plan will receive risk-free Bill Protection for the first 12 months. If a customer pays more on the Time-of-Use (Peak Pricing 4-9 p.m. Every Day) rate plan than they would have on their current rate plan, PG&E and Peninsula Clean Energy will automatically credit the customer the difference for the first year.
More About Time-of-Use Rate Plans
Customers on these rate plans can choose to shift and reduce some energy use to lower-cost time periods (19 hours) every day, including weekends and holidays. The hours of 4 to 9 p.m. are higher priced (peak times). All other times are lower priced (off-peak). Environmental advocacy groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) support the transition to TOU rates as the plans help build healthier communities.
“TOU rates help Californians take advantage of less expensive, cleaner and more plentiful electricity during periods when a greater share of renewable energy is flowing through the grid. Combined with energy efficiency, electrification, and demand response programs, TOU helps customers reduce energy costs and their carbon footprints by using appliances when more emissions-free electricity is available,” said Alejandra Mejia Cunningham, Building Decarbonization Advocate, NRDC.
Starting in 2018, approximately 150,000 residential customers from across PG&E’s service area representing diversity in climate, household size and energy use were randomly selected as part of the first phase of transitions. Eighty percent of those customers stayed on the new Time-of-Use rate plan for more than a year. PG&E incorporated feedback from this initial group into the plans for the full rollout.
For more information about the transition to Time-of-Use rates and Bill Protection eligibility, customers can visit www.pge.com/toutransition and PenCleanEnergy.com/
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
About Peninsula Clean Energy
Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation agency. It is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and, beginning in 2022, for the City of Los Banos. Founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the county, the agency serves 295,000 customers by providing more than 3,500 gigawatt hours annually of electricity that is 100 percent carbon-free. As a community-led, not-for-profit agency, Peninsula Clean Energy makes significant investments in its communities to expand access to sustainable and affordable energy solutions. Peninsula Clean Energy is on track to deliver electricity that is 100 percent renewable by 2025. The agency has earned investment grade credit ratings from Moody’s and Fitch. For more information, visit PenCleanEnergy.com.