Time-Of-Use Residential Rate Plans

There is no minimum commitment period, and you can choose to sign up or un-enroll from the TOU-D-4-9PM, TOU-D-5-8PM, or TOU-D-PRIME rate plans at any time. Keep in mind that if you switch from a Time-Of-Use rate plan to an alternate plan, you will not be able to make another switch for a full 12 months.

The rate you are currently on may now be a discontinued TOU rate plan, including TOU-D-A, TOU-D-B, TOU-D-T, and TOU-EV-1. Discontinued TOU rate plans are no longer open to customer enrollment. If you’re enrolled in one of these rates, you can continue to stay on it for now. If you switch to a different rate plan, however, you cannot re-enroll in your previous plan.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has issued a statewide initiative to simplify rates and encourage conservation by having utilities transition most California customers to a new Time-Of-Use rate. Making these changes will help California achieve its climate and air quality goals. To comply with the CPUC directive, SCE began switching some customers to Time-Of-Use plans in 2018. Most SCE customers will eventually be transitioned to TOU rates as part of the statewide initiative if they do not select a different rate. Timing of the transition will differ for customers in SCE’s service territory. However, customers are free to change back to any existing eligible rate at any time.

To learn more about the California Public Utilities Commission rate reform initiative, go to the CPUC website at cpuc.ca.govand search for “Residential rate reform.”

If you pay more on a TOU rate plan (TOU-D-4-9PM or TOU-D-5-8PM) than you would have paid on your previous tiered rate plan for the first 12-months, you will receive a one-time bill credit for the difference after the first 12-months. If you choose to return to your tiered rate plan before the end of the first-12 months, you will receive a bill credit if applicable for the time you were on the TOU rate plan. TOU-D-PRIME does not qualify for bill protection.

Bill protection may apply if you started service with SCE prior to 10/1/2020 and you have not previously been active on a TOU rate, and you are not a NEM 2.0 customer.

Bill protection calculations may differ if a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) is responsible for the generation of your electricity. In such cases, you may receive bill protection from SCE for distribution charges only. Please check with your CCA for more details about bill protection.

If you can shift some of your electricity use to take advantage of the lower priced (off-peak) time periods, you have the ability to lower your overall electricity costs. Running your dishwasher during Off-Peak periods instead of during On-Peak periods is an example of shifting in usage to lower your electricity costs. Use our Appliance Energy Use Cost Estimator to see how much you can save by shifting energy use to off-peak hours.

With TOU rate plans, rate charges change between the longer winter period (August-May) and shorter summer period (June-September). As a result of these seasonal pricing differences, it is likely that on a TOU rate plan, your winter bills will be lower than you are used to, while your summer bills will be higher. Be sure to pay attention to the seasonal and monthly breakout of your projected costs in the Rate Plan Comparison Tool.

Each customer has two baseline allocations, one for summer and one for winter usage. Baseline allocation is the same as the baseline allowance found on the standard residential rate plan. Your allowance can be found by reviewing the “details of your new charges” section of the bill statement. Under “additional information” you will see your summer baseline allowance, your winter baseline allowance, or both, depending on which month’s bill you review. For more information about baseline, view the “about baseline” section of the standard domestic rate plan page here.

TOU rate plans are not subject to the High Usage Charge.

TOU-D-4-9PM, TOU-D-5-8PM, and TOU-D-PRIME—as well as discontinued TOU rate plans TOU-D-A and TOU-D-T—are also subject to a minimum bill charge averaging out to about $10 a month. This means that if the delivery portion of your bill does not meet the minimum bill amount of 32¢ per day, a charge will be added to your bill for the difference to reach approximately $10. The delivery charges and the daily basic charge of 3¢ per day apply towards your minimum bill charge.

Medical Baseline customers have an additional 16.5 kWh allocated to their baseline usage on a daily basis, in addition to their applicable seasonal baseline for the operation of life-support devices and other qualifying equipment.

A Heat pump water heater (HPWH) can be three times more efficient than a conventional water heater. It works similar to a refrigerator, except in reverse. While a refrigerator removes a heat pump water heater takes the heat from the surrounding air, a HPWH takes the heat from surrounding air and transfers it to water in an enclosed tank.  Effective October 1, 2022, customers who own a Heat Pump Water Heater also are eligible for an additional baseline allocation if they are on TOU-D-4-9PM or TOU-D-5-8PM. Customers receiving a basic baseline allowance will receive an incremental allowance of 1.9 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per day in the Summer and 2.6 kWh per day in the Winter, and customers receiving an All-Electric baseline allowance will receive with an incremental allowance. This additional allocation provides a credit to help offset the charges you pay for the HPWH electricity usage. If you are already enrolled on an eligible TOU rate and have recently installed a HPWH, please call us at 1-866-743-1645 to get this allocation enabled.

There are a number of new incentives in California that make a heat pump water heater more affordable than ever. To find incentives available in your area, visit The Switch Is On website.