Electricity rates decreasing for customers and SVCE Board elects to continue generation discount and bill credits
Sunnyvale, CA — This month, electricity bills are decreasing for Silicon Valley residents and businesses by about six percent overall. The reduction is attributed to a 40 percent decrease in Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) electric generation rates, while Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) delivery charges and other state fees increase. During the annual budget process, the SVCE Board of Directors voted to align its rates to the equivalent of a one percent discount on average to comparable PG&E generation rates.
The Board decision for 2026 rates includes continuing a monthly bill credit to California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) customers, which is $12 per month. The rate for the 100% renewable GreenPrime product has also decreased. GreenPrime was offered at a $0.017 premium per kilowatt-hour in 2025 and is reducing to $0.0074 in 2026. This reduction, along with the overall decrease in generation rates, is due to energy market prices decreasing and other factors, such as the sunset of some state wildfire fees. The new prices in the comparison table reflect overall bills coming down from an average of $205 per month in 2025.
“Energy affordability is a top focus for the SVCE Board and staff alike,” said George Tyson, SVCE Board Chair. “We are pleased that we are in a position where we can reduce energy rates, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of our customers for long-term rate policies that protect them from the increases we’ve seen in recent years.”
The SVCE generation rate comprises one-third of total electricity bills. The remainder is PG&E transmission and distribution charges and other fees to fund statewide programs. Since its formation, SVCE has been able to offer competitive discounts to PG&E’s generation rates, which have ranged from one to six percent, depending on various factors. The agency first considers its forecasted costs to provide its clean electricity service and then forecasts revenue to recover those costs. Rates are determined based on the forecasted revenue requirement and overall projected load for all SVCE customers.
The SVCE rate-setting process considers the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA), a fee that all customers, including Community Choice Aggregation customers, pay to recover PG&E’s above-market costs for resources the utility procured for its customers before their communities created a local energy provider. Customers who remain with PG&E also pay the PCIA. However, state regulators recently changed the methodology for how this fee is calculated, which caused the PCIA to increase significantly for SVCE and all CCA customers this year. The SVCE budget, planning, and energy procurement practices enable the agency to mitigate this kind of market and regulatory uncertainty and continue cost-effectively serving customers and meeting its mission.
Also, beginning in March 2026, customers can expect to see PG&E begin to implement the Base Service Charge. PG&E, along with all other investor-owned utilities in the state, is restructuring a portion of its transmission and distribution fees on residential customer bills. The Base Service Charge recategorizes some costs associated with infrastructure, maintenance, energy programs, PG&E call center services and billing into a flat fee instead of a volumetric fee as it was previously charged.
The fixed charge only applies to the PG&E portion of customer bills (transmission and delivery costs). There will not be a fixed charge for the SVCE portion of bills (generation). All residential customers in PG&E’s service territory, including rooftop solar customers, will pay the Base Service Charge. The monthly Base Service Charge will be $6 for customers enrolled in CARE, $12 for customers enrolled in FERA, and $24 for all other customers, with slight variances month-to-month based on total days per billing period. The Base Service Charge is not a new, additional fee and is intended to be offset by a decrease in volumetric payments.
SVCE has saved customers over $203 million on electricity bills since 2017 and has distributed nearly $30 million to customers in the form of rebates, grants, scholarships, and other offers and services. In 2025, to provide some relief from increasing costs, SVCE distributed a one-time bill credit to all customers, totaling $33 million back into customers’ pockets.
SVCE rates may be found at: Electricity Rates – SVCE.
###
About Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Silicon Valley Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, community-owned agency providing electricity from renewable and clean sources to more than 275,000 residential and commercial customers in 13 Santa Clara County jurisdictions. As a public agency, net revenues are returned to the community to keep rates competitive and promote clean energy programs. Silicon Valley Clean Energy is advancing innovative solutions to fight climate change by decarbonizing the grid, transportation, and buildings. Learn more at SVCleanEnergy.org.
Media Contact
Pamela Leonard, Deputy Director of Marketing & Communications
408-549-2671 | pamela.leonard@svcleanenergy.org
