Plug-in solar on Pacific Gas & Electric
PG&E's average residential rate is around 39.25¢/kWh. What a plug-in panel saves across Northern California, where sun varies more than in the south.
By Mike YuPublished September 1, 2026
The rates
| Average residential rate | ~39.25¢/kWh (March 2026) |
| E-TOU-C peak | ~50¢/kWh |
| Peak window | 4pm–9pm |
What a kit saves on PG&E, by region
This is where PG&E differs from the southern utilities: a panel in Fresno makes meaningfully more than the same panel in San Francisco.
| Region | Approx. annual production per kW | 800W tilted, west, someone home |
|---|---|---|
| Central Valley (Fresno, Bakersfield) | ~1,650 kWh | ~$320 |
| Sacramento area | ~1,600 kWh | ~$310 |
| Inland Bay Area (Concord, San Jose) | ~1,550 kWh | ~$300 |
| San Francisco and the coast | ~1,450 kWh | ~$280 |
| North coast (Eureka) | ~1,250 kWh | ~$242 |
Estimated using NREL irradiance data and a 39.25-cent blended rate, west-facing, tilted, open sky, 75% self-consumption. The city of Sacramento is served by SMUD, not PG&E — the row above is for the surrounding PG&E areas. Full working.
Fog matters in San Francisco the way marine layer matters in San Diego, and it's worse for morning production. West-facing beats east-facing here by more than the raw numbers suggest.
Not everyone in Northern California is on PG&E
SMUD serves the city of Sacramento and much of the county. It's a publicly owned utility, covered by SB 868 the same way the investor-owned ones are, and its rates are substantially lower than PG&E's — which lengthens payback.
Various Community Choice Aggregators — MCE, East Bay Community Energy, Peninsula Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, CleanPowerSF and others — supply the generation while PG&E delivers it. Check your bill.
PG&E's position
PG&E was not listed among SB 868's formal opponents in the committee analyses we reviewed, which is notable given SCE's and SDG&E's opposition. We have found no published PG&E statement on the bill, and no registration process, as of 1 September 2026. We'd rather record the silence than infer a position from it.
Work out your savings → · SCE · SDG&E
Sources
Every legal, numeric and safety claim on this page traces to one of these.
- PG&E residential rate plans — accessed September 1, 2026
- Solar.com, PG&E electric rates 2026 — accessed September 1, 2026