[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":284},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Futilities\u002Fpge":3,"author-mike":234,"ssc-status":271},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":209,"datePublished":209,"description":210,"extension":211,"howToSteps":212,"kits":212,"layout":213,"meta":214,"navigation":215,"path":216,"schemaType":217,"seo":218,"sources":219,"stem":226,"targetKeywords":227,"titleTag":232,"translationOf":212,"__hash__":233},"content\u002Futilities\u002Fpge.md","Plug-in solar on Pacific Gas & Electric","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,18,22,25,30,72,76,79,151,163,166,170,177,184,188,191,206],[12,13,14],"answer-box",{},[15,16,17],"p",{},"PG&E's average residential rate was around 39.25 cents a kilowatt-hour as of March 2026, between SCE's and SDG&E's. The bigger variable in PG&E's territory isn't the rate, it's the sun: it stretches from Bakersfield to the Oregon border, and annual production varies by 20 percent or more across it.",[19,20],"stat-grid",{":stats":21},"[{\"value\":\"39.25¢\",\"label\":\"Per kWh, March 2026\",\"note\":\"Between SCE's and SDG&E's.\"},{\"value\":\"20%+\",\"label\":\"Spread in sun across the territory\",\"note\":\"Bakersfield to the Oregon border. The bigger variable here.\"},{\"value\":\"4–9pm\",\"label\":\"When it costs most\",\"note\":\"About 50¢ on E-TOU-C.\"},{\"value\":\"$242–320\",\"label\":\"800W tilted, west, someone home\",\"note\":\"A year. Eureka at the bottom, the Central Valley at the top.\"}]",[23,24],"status-strip",{},[26,27,29],"h2",{"id":28},"the-rates","The rates",[31,32,33,44],"table",{},[34,35,36],"thead",{},[37,38,39,42],"tr",{},[40,41],"th",{},[40,43],{},[45,46,47,56,64],"tbody",{},[37,48,49,53],{},[50,51,52],"td",{},"Average residential rate",[50,54,55],{},"~39.25¢\u002FkWh (March 2026)",[37,57,58,61],{},[50,59,60],{},"E-TOU-C peak",[50,62,63],{},"~50¢\u002FkWh",[37,65,66,69],{},[50,67,68],{},"Peak window",[50,70,71],{},"4pm–9pm",[26,73,75],{"id":74},"what-a-kit-saves-on-pge-by-region","What a kit saves on PG&E, by region",[15,77,78],{},"This is where PG&E differs from the southern utilities: a panel in Fresno makes meaningfully more than the same panel in San Francisco.",[31,80,81,94],{},[34,82,83],{},[37,84,85,88,91],{},[40,86,87],{},"Region",[40,89,90],{},"Approx. annual production per kW",[40,92,93],{},"800W tilted, west, someone home",[45,95,96,107,118,129,140],{},[37,97,98,101,104],{},[50,99,100],{},"Central Valley (Fresno, Bakersfield)",[50,102,103],{},"~1,650 kWh",[50,105,106],{},"~$320",[37,108,109,112,115],{},[50,110,111],{},"Sacramento area",[50,113,114],{},"~1,600 kWh",[50,116,117],{},"~$310",[37,119,120,123,126],{},[50,121,122],{},"Inland Bay Area (Concord, San Jose)",[50,124,125],{},"~1,550 kWh",[50,127,128],{},"~$300",[37,130,131,134,137],{},[50,132,133],{},"San Francisco and the coast",[50,135,136],{},"~1,450 kWh",[50,138,139],{},"~$280",[37,141,142,145,148],{},[50,143,144],{},"North coast (Eureka)",[50,146,147],{},"~1,250 kWh",[50,149,150],{},"~$242",[15,152,153],{},[154,155,156,157,162],"em",{},"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. ",[158,159,161],"a",{"href":160},"\u002Fmethodology","Full working",".",[15,164,165],{},"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.",[26,167,169],{"id":168},"not-everyone-in-northern-california-is-on-pge","Not everyone in Northern California is on PG&E",[15,171,172,176],{},[173,174,175],"strong",{},"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.",[15,178,179,180,183],{},"Various ",[173,181,182],{},"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.",[26,185,187],{"id":186},"pges-position","PG&E's position",[15,189,190],{},"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.",[15,192,193,197,198,197,202],{},[158,194,196],{"href":195},"\u002Fwizard","Work out your savings →"," · ",[158,199,201],{"href":200},"\u002Futilities\u002Fsce","SCE",[158,203,205],{"href":204},"\u002Futilities\u002Fsdge","SDG&E",[207,208],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","PG&E's average residential rate is around 39.25¢\u002FkWh. What a plug-in panel saves across Northern California, where sun varies more than in the south.","md",null,"data",{},true,"\u002Futilities\u002Fpge","Article",{"title":5,"description":210},[220,223],{"title":221,"url":222,"accessed":209},"PG&E residential rate plans","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pge.com\u002Fen\u002Faccount\u002Frate-plans\u002Ffind-your-best-rate-plan.html",{"title":224,"url":225,"accessed":209},"Solar.com, PG&E electric rates 2026","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.solar.com\u002Flearn\u002Fpge-electric-rates\u002F","utilities\u002Fpge",[228,229,230,231],"PG&E plug in solar","PGE balcony solar","PG&E solar savings","Bay Area balcony solar","Balcony Solar with PG&E | Rates, Peak Hours, Savings","nv-f_puuScSIjJDS7g8UJuRyLMRp_A8FTNUHBG_pLDg",{"id":235,"title":236,"body":237,"description":262,"email":261,"extension":211,"location":263,"meta":264,"name":243,"navigation":215,"path":265,"photo":266,"role":267,"sameAs":212,"seo":268,"stem":269,"__hash__":270},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":238},[239,245,248,252,255],[15,240,241,244],{},[173,242,243],{},"Mike Yu"," started SmallSolarCo after working out that a plug-in panel was the only kind of solar available to him — he rents in Irvine with a west-facing balcony and no roof of his own. He is not an electrician, a solar installer, or a lawyer, and the site says so wherever it matters. He has a background building web products, and built the savings model here himself, using NREL irradiance data and Southern California Edison's published rates.",[15,246,247],{},"Since September 2026 he has been running a plug-in kit on that balcony and logging what it actually produces. Every measured figure on this site comes from that kit. Everything else is labelled as an estimate.",[26,249,251],{"id":250},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[15,253,254],{},"We don't accept review units on terms that involve anyone approving the review first. If a manufacturer sends us a kit, we say so on the review, and we keep the right to publish a bad one.",[15,256,257,258,162],{},"Reach him at ",[158,259,261],{"href":260},"mailto:hello@smallsolarco.com","hello@smallsolarco.com","Mike Yu started SmallSolarCo after working out that a plug-in panel was the only kind of solar available to him — he rents in Irvine with a west-facing balcony and no roof of his own. He is not an electrician, a solar installer, or a lawyer, and the site says so wherever it matters. He has a background building web products, and built the savings model here himself, using NREL irradiance data and Southern California Edison's published rates.","Irvine, California",{},"\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike","\u002Fimages\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.jpg","Founder",{"description":262},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",{"id":272,"asOf":209,"deadline":273,"effectiveIfSigned":274,"extension":275,"linkHref":276,"linkText":277,"long":278,"meta":279,"short":280,"stage":281,"stem":282,"__hash__":283},"status\u002Fstatus.yml","2026-09-30","2027-01-01","yml","\u002Fis-it-legal","Follow the bill","As of 1 September 2026, SB 868 has passed both houses of the California Legislature and was enrolled on 28 August 2026. Governor Newsom has until 30 September 2026 to sign or veto it. If he signs, it takes effect 1 January 2027.",{},"Not yet law. Passed the Legislature, waiting on the Governor.","awaiting-governor","status","y1EcgNvLaSQD00RchAw3MGw06s9kMOhBN4NDIrjgUSs",1788387859244]