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 get SDCP generation credits with Net Surplus Compensation paid at SDG&E's wholesale rate plus a $0.0075/kWh bonus, automatic payout above $100, and a Balance Credit Refund at true-up. Systems interconnected after April 15, 2023 fall under SDCP's Solar Billing Plan — avoided-cost export credits on the generation side with the standard nine-year legacy period. 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 2025): an upfront battery rebate of $250–$500 per kWh of capacity, plus an ongoing performance payment of $0.10/kWh for discharging at least half your battery into the 4–9 PM weekday window — exactly the dispatch pattern a well-designed NEM 3.0 system runs anyway. Single-family homes with solar-charged batteries qualify, with a five-year participation commitment (rebate prorated if you exit early). 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 $250–$500 per kWh of battery capacity plus $0.10/kWh performance payments for discharging 50%+ of the battery into the 4–9 PM weekday window. Single-family homes with solar-charged batteries qualify; there's a five-year commitment with prorated repayment if you leave early.
- 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.
- 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 line-item quote, owner-reviewed.