Yes. CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline is available to Silicon Valley Clean Energy customers as well as PG&E customers and provides the same discount regardless of enrollment with Silicon Valley Clean Energy or PG&E. Customers enrolled in Silicon Valley Clean Energy continue to receive their CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline discount within their PG&E delivery charges; there is no need to reapply with Silicon Valley Clean Energy. New CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline enrollments or renewals must still be done through PG&E’s customer service center or website.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy electric generation rates are lower than PG&E. With competitive rates, SVCE has saved customers more than $100 million on their electricity bills since 2017.
We are committed to offering rates that are stable and cost-competitive. For detailed rate information, please see our residential and commercial rate pages.
The Silicon Valley Clean Energy board is committed to providing clean power at competitive prices. Rate changes are discussed and determined at duly-noticed public meetings.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy was developed to benefit our community, and clean, cost-competitive power is one way we are doing this. As a public, not-for-profit organization, Silicon Valley Clean Energy is here to serve and benefit all of the residents and businesses in our service territory. We do not have shareholders that we need to serve. We work for you, the local customer and community.
No. We work in partnership with PG&E so that you will get just one bill for your electricity services administered by PG&E each month. Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s electricity generation service charges are included as a line item on your monthly electricity bill from PG&E.
Customer electricity service is split by generation and distribution. Silicon Valley Clean Energy is the agency that provides the electricity generation and charges for this service. PG&E provides the transmission and delivery and charges for this service, along with a variety of other regulatory and program charges at the same rates they always have. There are no duplicate charges for electricity generation as two separate agencies are providing two different services. These two services are compiled into one bill for the customer’s ease of payment.
View our Understanding Your Bill webpage to learn more.
PG&E charges Silicon Valley Clean Energy customers a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) and a Franchise Fee Surcharge. Both are calculated based on the number of kilowatt-hours used each month. The PCIA is intended to ensure that SVCE customers pay the difference between what PG&E paid for power contracted to serve them prior to their switch, and the current market value of that power. For most SVCE customers, the PCIA is currently two to three cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on when the customer switched to Silicon Valley Clean Energy and whether they are a residential or a commercial customer. The PCIA and Franchise Fee charges are factored into SVCE’s rate setting process so that in total, customers still save money compared to PG&E’s rates.
If you ever have questions about the Silicon Valley Clean Energy portion of your bill, you can visit our website at www.svcleanenergy.org, call us toll free at 1-844-474-7823 or email us at customerservice@svcleanenergy.org. If you have questions about the rest of your PG&E bill, call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
Yes. SVCE customers remain eligible for PG&E rebate programs, the California Public Utilities Commission authorizes PG&E to collect fees (called public goods charges) from all customers to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy incentive programs. PG&E will still collect these fees and Silicon Valley Clean Energy customers will remain eligible for these incentives and services.
As an SVCE customer, you have access to both PG&E efficiency programs and SVCE offers and services to help you make all-electric upgrades and save money.
No. Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s rates mirror those of PG&E, so your rate plan remains the same, but the cost of your electricity is less than PG&E’s equivalent generation rate for GreenStart.
View residential rates and commercial rates.
No. SmartRate is a PG&E program that provides you a small discount during summer months in return for a higher rate up to 15 SmartDays a year, where you pay a much higher price for usage.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy rate schedules are designed to follow the same rates as PG&E, however at this time we do not have an equivalent SmartRate program. SVCE customers will have the chance to participate in similar dynamic rates as they become available in the future.
Yes, this is a statewide program administer by the CPUC that is available to all electric and gas customers.
If you use the Budget Billing option with PG&E, your PG&E natural gas charges and your electric delivery charges will still be leveled from month to month. Electric generation charges cannot be leveled with SVCE generation charges and will vary with each bill. For most customers, these charges do not vary greatly from month to month during the year.
Yes, Silicon Valley Clean Energy customers can participate in the Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot. You will be able to enroll in the Hourly Flex Pricing Pilot on the PG&E site. Once SVCE customer enrollment is open, details about the pilot and instructions on how to enroll will be added to our rates webpage.
A Rate Identification Number (RIN) is a standard, naming convention that will be used by smart-devices to identify a customer’s electricity rate.
Today, the QR code only stores the customer’s RIN number in a format that a smart appliance would be able read.
Utility customers on time-varying rates, like Time-Of-Use rates, will eventually be able to use the RIN/QR code to have the ability to direct smart devices to automatically access the customer’s rate and use electricity when it is cheapest and cleanest.
SVCE customers receive electric generation from SVCE, and PG&E continues to deliver that electricity over their infrastructure. The RIN/QR code printed on the ‘Details of SVCE Electric Generation Charges’ page of your monthly statement identifies your SVCE electric generation rate. PG&E charges SVCE customers for electric transmission and delivery (T&D) services, so a separate RIN/QR code on the PG&E Electric Delivery Charges page is linked to your T&D rate.
The RIN and QR code have limited value today, but in the future, a customer could use their camera app to scan the QR code on their bill to display the RIN tied to their utility rate. The customer could then enter the RIN into their smart, internet-connected device to enable smart scheduling and run when electricity is the cheapest and cleanest.
This new policy allows Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), including PG&E, to charge an Income Graduated Fixed Charge (IGFC) on residential customer energy bills. This charge moves cost recovery for certain aspects of energy bills from usage to a fixed charge based on income level.
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).
For residential customers in PG&E’s service territory, the IGFC is expected to be implemented in early 2026 and will be based on household income levels, ranging from $6 – $24.25.
