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Electricity bills in California have soared in recent years, driven by rising energy costs, increasing demand, and climate-related infrastructure damage and upgrades. While the state’s sunny climate and technological innovations provide opportunities to cut costs, understanding the factors behind these increases is key to cutting those costs.
This article explores why electricity bills in California are so high and offers practical solutions, from energy-efficient upgrades to solar power systems, that can help reduce your monthly expenses. Let’s dive in and start saving today!
What Is the Average Electric Bill in California?
While electricity in California is not the most expensive in the USA, it is still higher than most. In fact, only a handful of states are more expensive. In 2024, the average electricity bill was $186, up from about $124 in 2023 and about 29% higher than the national average.
Changes in the Cost of Electricity in California Over Time
Your electrical bills are based on what type of home you live in, what kind of appliances you use, how much energy you use, and your utility company. Even if your usage and provider do not change, the cost of that power has been increasing every year.
The average rate of electrical bills has been increasing across the United States by about 2% per year for the past 25 years. Part of this is simply inflation, but it also has to do with the source of that energy, local natural disasters, and other factors.
Unfortunately for California residents, that increase has been much higher than the national average. Our average annual rate of increase across all utilities in the past ten years has been over 7.7%.
Why Are California Electricity Costs Rising?
There are multiple reasons for the high rates of increase we have experienced in California. One major factor is the increased cost of natural gas when used as a power source. The cost of maintaining infrastructure has also been growing dramatically.
A significant reason for the increased maintenance costs is that utility companies have been strengthening their infrastructure to help prevent and repair damage from winds, floods, and wildfires, which are all rising in our state due to our changing climate.
For instance, part of that increase is due to wildfire insurance, which has been increasingly problematic in California and has cost utility companies enormous money in repairing and replacing damaged poles and transmission lines. That cost is now being passed off to the consumer.
Another factor is how much power you use. With the increasing temperatures and prevalence of heat waves, we rely on air conditioners more than ever to keep our homes comfortable. In addition, our ever-growing population and demand for power have never been higher, adding more fuel to these price increases.
Finally, how much your bill increases also depends on your provider. For instance, the national average increase since 2013 is about 20%. However, Southern California Edison has increased by 42%, Pacific Gas & Electric by 47%, while those using San Diego Gas & Electric company have seen increases of 78%.
How Can I Reduce My California Electricity Bill?
There are many ways to reduce electricity bills in California. Let’s look at some of the best ways you can do this.
Monitor Your Usage
Use smart meters, appliances, plugs, and smart apps to monitor your electrical usage better. Once you can determine what consumes the most electricity, try reducing those first. For instance, if your dryer uses a lot of power, why not install a clothesline and use free energy from the sun instead? Or suppose you’re using a lot of air conditioning in the summer or electric heat in the winter. In that case, your home might need better insulation, replacing seals, and caulking around doors and windows to help prevent cooling and heating losses.
Opt For Energy Efficiency
When replacing old or broken appliances, always check for their energy efficiency ratings and choose those that use the least energy. Also, replace old incandescent or compact fluorescent lightbulbs with newer, more efficient LED lighting. Another option is installing a smart thermostat and a heat pump water heater to help you automatically reduce your cooling and heating bills.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) can help you switch to more efficient appliances and even reduce the cost of an EV and charger for your home. These options can vary depending on your situation, so check out what options are available in your location and income bracket.
Take Advantage of Time-of-Use Tariffs
Many Californians are already on a time-of-use tariff but may not be making the most of it. These plans charge customers more when demand is the highest, like during the day or early evening, and the least when demand is lowest, typically in the middle of the night.
Take advantage of your time-of-use tariffs and switch your heavy-duty appliance usage to off-peak hours, like washers and dryers. Newer smart appliances often allow you to schedule their run time directly on the appliance. If you don’t have that option, just start them when you are about to go to bed.
Install Solar Panels
California has plenty of sunshine, so take advantage of all that free energy and install solar panels, and you can save a ton of money. There are multiple options depending on what you want to do. You can install some EcoFlow Rigid Solar Panels to help supplement your daytime energy usage, which will help reduce the cost of air conditioners.
However, they only work when the sun is shining, so using a portable power station with them is always a good idea. For instance, EcoFlow Solar Generators come in various capacities to suit your energy needs. They store all that excess energy the panels produce during the day in their solar battery so you can use it anytime, even at night or during bad weather.
What about a more extensive solution? The EcoFlow DELTA Series Solar Generators all have expandable capacities. This means you can start with a single battery and expand it whenever you want to increase your solar generation output and storage, even enough to use it for a whole home generator solution.
For instance, the EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra has an impressive 7.2kWh capacity but can easily be expanded with additional batteries. In fact, with enough batteries and inverters, you can get up to 90kWh capacity with 3 inverters and 15 batteries, which is enough to power even the largest homes.
Income-Based Savings Programs
California has two income-based programs to help significantly lower our state’s power cost: the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and the Family Electric Rate Assistance Program (FERA). These programs offer 18-35% discounts on your electricity bill, depending on your family income, with higher discounts offered by CARE to those with lower income. If your income exceeds the requirement for CARE, you might still be eligible for FERA with a lower discount.
Furthermore, certain areas of California also offer discounts. If you are unsure what is available in your area and from your provider, contact your electricity provider and ask. Consider switching to a different provider if necessary to get those discounts.
Final Thoughts
California’s high electricity bills stem from rising infrastructure costs, climate-related challenges like increased storms and wildfires, and increased energy demand with a growing population and higher energy consumption during our increasing incidents of heat waves. However, you can reduce expenses by using energy-efficient appliances, time-of-use tariffs, smart usage monitoring, and income-based relief programs like CARE and FERA.
Investing in renewable energy solutions, like EcoFlow’s Solar Generators, also offers sustainable and cost-effective ways to power your home without contributing to climate-related issues. Invest in solar and start saving money and our climate today.