This calculator makes that gap real. It's more than statements like "California pays more than average" or "rates have gone up 30%." It's your usage, what SDG&E charged you, and what eight other utilities would have charged for the same electricity.
Your 450 kWh stays 450 kWh in El Centro. In reality an Imperial Valley household runs the AC more than a coastal San Diego household — cooling load often 2–3× higher in summer. We're showing you the rate, not a projected bill.
We use the kWh you gave us as ground truth. We don't model insulation, appliance mix, or household size.
Out of scope for v1. Rooftop-solar customers will see results that don't reflect their net-metered bills.
Many utilities offer EV-specific tariffs with discounted overnight rates. We use default residential plans; EV plans are out of scope for v1.
If you're a CCA customer (e.g. SDCP in SDG&E territory), we use the bundled SDG&E rate. This simplifies but can miss up to ~5% in either direction.
Electric only in v1. Households that heat with gas will have very different total utility bills than households that electrify.
California IOUs (including SDG&E) are introducing income-graduated fixed charges (IGRT). We use the standard residential plan; lower-income customers may pay less than our SDG&E figure shows. Same caveat applies to discount programs (CARE / FERA) which we don't model.
We compare SDG&E against eight other California utilities. Same energy markets, same regulator (CPUC for IOUs), same climate range — so the differences you see come from how each utility is structured, not from comparing San Diego to a different state. The set spans both investor-owned utilities (SDG&E, SCE, PG&E) and publicly-owned utilities (LADWP, SMUD, Anaheim, IID, Riverside, MID), so the IOU-vs-POU comparison is visible head to head.
Every number comes from the utility's own published tariff. Each row links to the source page we last verified against. Rates are reviewed by volunteers and refreshed periodically — meaning some figures may lag a recent rate change. When in doubt, check the source.
| City | Utility | Type | Rates effective | Last verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading rate sources… | |||||
For each utility, we use the most common residential plan and calculate an all-in monthly bill: energy charges + fixed and service charges + per-kWh surcharges + local taxes. Three rate structures cover the lineup:
Where utilities use hybrid structures (e.g., tiered rates plus separate per-kWh riders), we apply each component the way the utility does.
Expand any city on the results page to see the full per-utility breakdown.
This calculator was built by volunteers at Public Power San Diego — neighbors who got tired of looking at their SDG&E bills and wondering why the rest of the country doesn't pay this much.
We wanted to show you (yes, you!) the gap, which is hard to argue with once it's on your own bill. The same kilowatt-hours typically cost a fraction of what they do in San Diego just up the freeway in LA, Anaheim, or Riverside. And it doesn't have to be this way.
PPSD is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educating San Diegans on the benefits of a publicly owned electrical grid. Learn more about the movement on our website: publicpowersd.org
Publicly Owned Utility
Examples in this calculator: LADWP, SMUD, Anaheim Public Utilities, Imperial Irrigation District, Riverside Public Utilities, Modesto Irrigation District
Investor-Owned Utility
Examples in this calculator: SDG&E, SCE, PG&E
