California's new flat utility charge lowered the per-kWh price. Here's how it changes your electrification quotes.

PG&E switched last, but all three utilities now charge a fixed monthly amount

PG&E began billing its Base Services Charge in March 2026. SDG&E started in October 2025. SCE started in November 2025. All three major California investor-owned utilities have now made the change.

For most residential customers, the charge is $24.15 per month. It is about $12 for FERA customers and customers in deed-restricted affordable housing. CARE customers pay about $6.

The California Public Utilities Commission adopted the charge in Decision 24-05-028 in May 2024. Utility Dive reported that the Commission approved it unanimously. The charge was first called the income-graduated fixed charge. It was later renamed the Base Services Charge.

Assembly Bill 205 created the charge in 2022. PG&E says the change lets it comply with AB 205.

This matters when you quote EV chargers, heat pump circuits, induction equipment, and panel upgrades. It also matters on solar-only work.

The fixed charge moved costs out of the per-kWh price

PG&E says the Base Services Charge covers approved infrastructure and maintenance costs for connecting a home to the grid, energy programs, call center services, and billing. Those costs used to be included in the per-kWh price.

SDG&E says the charge “is not a new fee or tax.” It reallocates existing costs.

That means the per-kWh price is lower, while the fixed part is fixed. Do not tell a homeowner that their total bill will drop.

Utility Dive reported that regulators expected the change to cut residential electricity rates by 5 to 7 cents per kWh. SCE says its per-kWh price “decreases by approximately 10%.” SDG&E says customers may pay “about 10% less per kWh,” or roughly 5 cents per kWh on electric delivery. PG&E says its per-kWh price is lowered compared with the otherwise applicable price, without stating one number.

SCE says the Base Services Charge applies to all residential rate plans, including time-of-use and tiered plans.

Added electric use now runs against a lower per-kWh price

A new EV charger, heat pump, induction range, or heat pump water heater adds kWh to the customer’s usage. Those kWh are priced lower than they would have been under the old structure.

The fixed charge is paid either way. It does not grow because the customer adds a circuit or uses more electricity.

That is the operating-cost point to make. It is not a savings promise.

Use this only as an illustration: if EV charging adds 300 kWh in one month, a 5 cent per-kWh reduction equals $15 for that month. That is arithmetic, not a quote for the customer’s bill. Use the customer’s own utility bill and rate plan before discussing any monthly effect.

Federal residential energy tax credits for these jobs have expired. Our breakdown of the expired federal energy credits covers the dates. With those credits gone, monthly operating cost is a bigger part of the electrification conversation.

Solar exports cannot erase the Base Services Charge

PG&E says solar customers “still use the electric grid, and therefore pay the same Base Services Charge as non-solar customers.” SDG&E says solar generation credits cannot offset the charge.

For a solar-only customer, that means a fixed monthly amount remains on the bill even when the customer exports electricity. Each kWh offset by the panels is also worth somewhat less than before because the per-kWh price is lower.

Do not quantify solar payback unless you have the customer’s actual bill, rate plan, and system information. The right conversation is about self-consumption, battery storage, and export value. Our guide to NEM 3.0 and SGIP battery incentives belongs in that discussion.

A battery may matter more when export credits cannot remove the fixed charge. That does not make the charge avoidable. It makes the customer’s use of generated power a more relevant part of the quote.

Ask for the utility and rate plan before discussing operating cost

On an EV charger, heat pump, or panel-upgrade quote, ask which utility serves the property and which rate plan the customer uses.

Then state the timing plainly. SDG&E’s Base Services Charge began in October 2025. SCE’s began in November 2025. PG&E’s began in March 2026. The per-kWh price is lower under the new structure, but you should not quote bill savings that you have not calculated from the customer’s bill.

For CARE and FERA customers, ask which program applies. The charge is about $6 for CARE and about $12 for FERA customers and customers in deed-restricted affordable housing.

The customer’s words can give you the opening. Wirewoman’s text summary after a call includes “the problem in the caller’s words.” When a homeowner calls about an EV charger or heat pump circuit and mentions the electric bill or the new charge as the reason, read that wording before you call back. You can begin with the utility and rate plan instead of finding out at the kitchen table.

If the call is about an EV charger, use the intake questions in what to ask before booking an EV charger installation. For a panel upgrade, use the questions in panel upgrade calls.

Wirewoman answers 24/7. Her electrician intake asks about the panel, breaker behavior, EV charger, property type, and property age. Within 30 seconds of hang-up, she texts the shop the caller’s name, address, problem, urgency, and booked time, then logs every call to a dashboard.

That property age, panel information, and EV charger answer arrive before you price the job. You already have a basis for deciding whether the electrification quote also needs a panel conversation.

Put the fixed charge and rate plan into the quote conversation

On solar-only work, tell the customer that the roughly $24 charge remains on the bill regardless of how much electricity the system exports. Discuss battery storage and self-consumption without promising a payback period.

On electrification work, say that the added kWh use is billed at the lower per-kWh price, while the fixed monthly charge is paid either way. Use the bill, not a generic monthly savings figure.

That is the change to make in your estimates now.

Quick answers

When did PG&E start the Base Services Charge?
PG&E started it in March 2026.

How much is the charge for most residential customers?
The CPUC amount is $24.15 per month.

Can solar export credits eliminate the charge?
No. Solar customers still pay it, and SDG&E says solar credits cannot offset it.

Does the charge increase when a customer adds an EV charger or heat pump?
No. The fixed charge does not grow with added load.

What should you ask before discussing bill effects?
Ask for the customer’s utility, rate plan, and electric bill.