California Utility Cost Calculator

Three ways to buy power

California homes buy electricity from an investor-owned utility (Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric are the largest), from a public utility such as the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power or the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, or from a community choice aggregator — Clean Power Alliance of Southern California ranked fifth among all retailers for residential sales in 2024. Energy-only providers delivered 36% of the state’s retail electricity to about 6.4 million accounts; for those customers the local utility still owns the wires.

Why the rate is so high, and the bills are not

At 32.99¢ per kWh over the last year, California’s residential price is second only to Hawaii’s, yet the typical home used only about 488 kWh a month — the lowest of all 51 jurisdictions — so the average bill sits mid-pack. Gas heating (64% of homes) keeps electric use down; the 2020 household survey found just 605 kWh a year of electric space heating in homes that use it. Bills were highest in September 2025 ($202.39) and lowest in November 2025 ($133.56).

Solar made 22.5% of in-state generation in 2024, and 2.09 million homes had net-metered systems — 41% of all such homes in the country. California generated 214 TWh but consumed more, drawing about a fifth of its supply from other states.

Discounts for income-qualified homes

For households that qualify, the California Public Utilities Commission’s CARE program “provides a 30-35% discount on your electric bill and a 20% discount on your natural gas bill,” and FERA provides an 18% electric discount for incomes slightly above the CARE limits. Gas accounts averaged 381 therms in 2024 at $2.154 per therm, fourth-highest nationally. LIHEAP is run by the state Department of Community Services and Development.