What's the Average Electric Bill in San Diego? (2026)

There's no gentle way to put this: if you live in San Diego, you're paying more per kilowatt-hour than almost anyone else in the continental United States. SDG&E's bundled residential average landed near 45.7¢/kWh in January 2026 — well above SCE's mid-30s average up the coast and roughly triple the national average. We install solar all over Southern California, and San Diego is the territory where the payback math consistently needs the least salesmanship.

What San Diego bills actually look like by usage

The table below uses SDG&E's bundled residential average. Your exact bill depends on your rate plan (most households are on time-of-use plans like TOU-DR1, where peak power costs far more than off-peak), whether your generation comes from SDG&E or San Diego Community Power, and CARE/FERA discounts if you qualify.

Monthly usage	Who this looks like	Approximate monthly bill
400 kWh	Small coastal condo or apartment, no AC	$165–$200
600 kWh	Typical 2–3 bedroom home near the coast	$250–$300
800 kWh	Larger family home, some AC use	$330–$400
1,200 kWh	Big inland home, regular AC, pool or EV	$500–$600

Two things push real bills toward the top of those ranges. First, time-of-use pricing: on SDG&E's TOU-DR1 plan, summer on-peak power (4–9 PM) prices out above 60¢/kWh, and that window is exactly when most families cook dinner and run the AC. Second, usage in San Diego is deceptively seasonal — the coast barely needs cooling, but head inland toward Santee, Poway, or Escondido and summer AC can add 300–500 kWh to a month.

Why the bill got this high

San Diego's rates aren't high because San Diegans use a lot of power — usage here is modest by national standards. They're high because of what each kilowatt-hour has to carry on its way to you.

Cost driver	What it means on your bill
Wildfire hardening	Undergrounding lines, weather stations, insurance — SDG&E's territory includes some of the most fire-prone terrain in the West, and the 2007 Witch Creek fire liability reshaped its spending
Approved rate increases	The CPUC authorized SDG&E base revenue increases through 2027 in its current general rate case
Delivery infrastructure	A relatively small, geographically constrained territory with long transmission corridors spreads fixed costs over fewer customers
Generation costs	The commodity itself — the one piece a CCA can compete on

The important detail: most of your bill is delivery, not generation. That's why switching providers only moves the needle so far — and why producing your own power on your roof moves it a lot further.

SDG&E vs. San Diego Community Power

Most San Diego households were automatically enrolled in San Diego Community Power, the region's community choice aggregator. SDCP buys the generation; SDG&E still owns the wires, delivers the power, and sends the bill.

Service	What you get	Price vs. SDG&E
SDCP PowerOn (default)	50%+ renewable generation	Priced ~4% below SDG&E's comparable generation rate for 2026
SDCP PowerBase	Income-qualified option	Roughly 10% below SDG&E
SDCP Power100	100% renewable	Slightly above SDG&E bundled — about a dollar a month for typical usage
SDG&E bundled	Standard utility generation	Baseline

Worth doing? Sure — it's free money on the generation slice. But because delivery charges are untouched, an SDCP customer using 800 kWh is still looking at a bill well north of $300. SDCP membership doesn't change your solar interconnection or net metering treatment under SDG&E's NEM 3 rules, though SDCP does run its own solar and battery programs worth checking at quote time.

The solar math under NEM 3 in San Diego

Under the Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3), power you export to the grid earns a low avoided-cost credit — typically in the mid-single digits of cents per kWh for most hours. Power you use yourself instead of buying from SDG&E is worth full retail. That asymmetry defines the design:

Where a solar kWh goes	What it's worth in San Diego
Consumed in your home	~46¢ (avoided retail purchase)
Stored in a battery, used 4–9 PM	Up to ~60¢+ (avoided peak purchase)
Exported to the grid	Roughly 5–8¢ most hours

That's why nearly every system we design in SDG&E territory pairs panels with a battery: store the midday surplus, spend it during the 4–9 PM peak, and export as little as possible. At 2026 installed pricing of roughly $2.40–$3.25 per watt for solar, a typical 6–7 kW system with a battery offsets bills that would otherwise run $4,000–$7,000 a year.

One honest caveat: the 30% federal residential tax credit expired December 31, 2025 and does not apply to 2026 installations — the payback math below is unsubsidized, and in SDG&E territory it still works better than anywhere else we operate.

A custom design against your actual usage data will show your specific number, and rates aren't standing still — SDG&E has more changes coming in 2026.

We serve the whole region from the coast to the inland valleys — here's our San Diego County hub if you're outside the city proper.

For the statewide picture — how this compares against PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and LADWP, and what the new Base Services Charge changed in 2026 — see what the average electric bill in California actually is.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average electric bill in San Diego in 2026?

For a home using around 500–600 kWh per month — near the California average — expect roughly $230–$300 on SDG&E's bundled rates. Smaller coastal households can come in under $200, while larger inland homes with AC, a pool, or an EV routinely pass $500 in summer months.

Why is SDG&E the most expensive utility in the country?

It's mostly delivery costs, not generation: wildfire mitigation and undergrounding, liability and insurance costs dating back to the 2007 fires, and CPUC-approved rate increases spread across a relatively small customer base. San Diegans don't use unusual amounts of electricity — each kilowatt-hour just costs unusually much to deliver.

Does San Diego Community Power lower my bill?

Modestly. SDCP's default PowerOn service is priced about 4% below SDG&E's comparable generation rate for 2026, and generation is only part of your bill — SDG&E's delivery charges apply either way. It's worthwhile, but it won't rescue a $400 bill on its own.

Is solar still worth it in San Diego under NEM 3?

Yes — arguably more than anywhere in the country, because the retail rate you're offsetting is the highest in the continental US. The catch is that NEM 3 pays little for exports, so the strong designs pair solar with a battery to maximize self-consumption during the 4–9 PM peak. Even without the expired federal tax credit, SDG&E-territory paybacks are the fastest we see.

How much electricity does a typical San Diego home use?

California homes averaged 503 kWh per month in 2024 per EIA data, and coastal San Diego homes often use less than that thanks to the mild climate. Inland San Diego County homes with real summer heat commonly run 700–1,200 kWh in July and August.