Community Choice program
San Diego Community Power and your solar: how it actually works
San Diego Community Power is the CCA serving San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa, National City, Imperial Beach, and unincorporated San Diego County. SDCP buys the generation for roughly a million customers while SDG&E still owns the lines, delivers the power, and handles the meter. For solar owners the arrangement matters twice: SDCP credits the generation side of your exports on terms slightly better than SDG&E's — and it runs one of the region's few real battery incentive programs.
How solar billing works on SDCP
SDCP customers keep their SDG&E interconnection; what changes is who credits the generation portion of exports. Legacy NEM customers (interconnected before April 15, 2023, with a 20-year legacy period from Permission to Operate) get SDCP generation credits, and Net Surplus Compensation is paid at SDG&E's NSC rate plus a $0.0075/kWh bonus (January 2026: $0.02934 at SDG&E vs $0.03684 at SDCP), with surplus above $100 paid by check and smaller balances rolled over; a Balance Credit Refund settles leftover credits at the annual true-up. Systems interconnected after April 15, 2023 fall under SDCP's Solar Billing Plan: export credits follow the CPUC Avoided Cost Calculator on the generation side, the legacy period is nine years from PTO, residential customers go on SDG&E's EV-TOU-5 rate, and billing is monthly only. Against SDG&E's ~46¢/kWh retail rates, the design logic doesn't change: self-consumption first, battery carrying the evening peak — SDCP just adds a small bonus on top.
Delivery-side rules live with the utility: SDG&E net metering explained. Program details: sdcommunitypower.org.
SDCP programs worth real money
Solar Battery Savings
SDCP's flagship for homeowners (enrollment opened September 30, 2025; terms as posted on sdcommunitypower.org in October 2026): an upfront battery rebate of $350 per kWh for a new solar-and-battery install or $250 per kWh for a new battery added to existing solar, rising to $500 and $350 per kWh for CARE/FERA customers and homes in a Community of Concern, plus a performance payment of $0.10 per kWh discharged when the battery sends at least half its usable capacity into the weekday evening window (it moves month to month but always sits between 4 and 9 PM). The battery must be new, at a single-family home at the service address, charged only from the home's solar, and the household cannot also be enrolled in ELRP or the state's DSGS program (Tesla's virtual power plant payments run through DSGS, so it's one or the other). Batteries installed before enrolling are not eligible at this time. The commitment is five years: leave early and a prorated share of the rebate is repaid (100% in year one, stepping down 20 points a year) and future performance payments stop. For a typical Powerwall-class battery this stacks thousands of dollars onto already-strong SDG&E-territory economics.
Opting out (and why solar owners usually shouldn't)
Opt-out is available anytime through SDCP. One solar-specific caution: opting out triggers an early NEM true-up — your accumulated credits settle on exit — though your SDG&E interconnection agreement itself is unaffected. For most solar owners the bonus-credit terms are a reason to stay, not leave.
SDCP member communities we serve
Also SDCP members: La Mesa, National City, Imperial Beach, Unincorporated San Diego County.
SDCP questions, answered.
- What does the SDCP Solar Battery Savings program pay?
- An upfront rebate of $350 per kWh (new solar plus battery) or $250 per kWh (new battery on existing solar), or $500 and $350 per kWh for CARE/FERA customers and Communities of Concern, plus $0.10 per kWh discharged when the battery sends at least half its usable capacity into the weekday evening window between 4 and 9 PM. New batteries at single-family homes, charged only from solar, qualify; you cannot also be in ELRP or DSGS. There's a five-year commitment with prorated repayment if you leave early. Terms as posted by SDCP in October 2026; the program page sets the current numbers.
- Are my solar exports worth more on SDCP than plain SDG&E?
- Slightly, yes. SDCP credits the generation portion of exports and pays Net Surplus Compensation at SDG&E's wholesale rate plus a $0.0075/kWh bonus, with automatic payouts above $100. Newer systems on the Solar Billing Plan get the standard avoided-cost structure on SDCP's side.
- Does SDCP change how my solar gets installed or interconnected?
- No — interconnection, permitting, and the physical install run through SDG&E and your city exactly as they would otherwise. SDCP changes billing lines, not hardware. We fold the Solar Battery Savings enrollment into the project when you qualify.
- San Diego Community Power vs SDG&E: what actually changes on a solar bill?
- Less than most people expect. SDG&E still delivers the power, owns the meter, runs interconnection and Permission to Operate, and bills the delivery side; SDCP replaces SDG&E as the generation supplier and credits the generation side of your exports. For legacy NEM customers that means the same kWh credits plus SDCP's $0.0075/kWh Net Surplus Compensation bonus and a $100 cash-out threshold. For Solar Billing Plan customers the export rate is set by the CPUC's Avoided Cost Calculator either way, so the difference is SDCP's generation rate and its battery program, not the export math. Rate plans, the nine-year or twenty-year legacy periods, and your interconnection agreement are identical on both.
- Can I take the SDCP battery rebate and join Tesla's virtual power plant too?
- No. SDCP's Solar Battery Savings terms exclude households enrolled in ELRP or DSGS, and Tesla's California VPP payments run through the state's DSGS program. Pick one: SDCP's upfront rebate plus $0.10/kWh evening discharge payments, or the VPP's per-event payments. Compare both against your battery's size and how often you'd be called before enrolling.
- Which cities are SDCP members?
- San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa, National City, Imperial Beach, and unincorporated San Diego County. If your city isn't a member (Carlsbad, Oceanside, and North County coastal cities belong to Clean Energy Alliance instead), a different CCA — or plain SDG&E — applies.
We model SDCP's actual terms in every quote.
Your CCA tier, your export credits, your rebate eligibility — real numbers, one transparent quote, owner-reviewed.