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Understanding Your Bill

We know that your electricity bill may not be the most exciting ‘page-turner’, but we are here to help you understand how you are saving money with Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s (SVCE) generation service

This guide is to help you understand how your SVCE generation service is reflected on your PG&E bill. While SVCE is your electricity provider you still get your normal PG&E bill as PG&E provides the delivery and billing for your electricity service.

A breakdown of the charges on your bill:

  • PG&E no longer charges you for electric generation. SVCE now procures energy on your behalf from renewable and clean energy sources.
  • PG&E will continue to charge for electric delivery – the transmission and delivery of your electricity – as well as required regulatory and program charges. PG&E charges the same rates for customers getting electricity from SVCE and customers who do not. To learn more about PG&E’s rates visit pge.com.
  • PG&E adds fees to bills of customers who have a community choice energy provider – such as customers of SVCE. However, these fees are factored into SVCE’s rates so that in total, customers still save money on monthly bills compared to customers not participating with SVCE.
  • Your bill will include charges from both PG&E and SVCE, but there will never be any duplicate charges.

Learn More Here

Provided below, we walk through the different elements in an example bill. The bill is based on a Time-of-Use rate schedule, the most common rate for a residential customer

For a quick analysis of your own bill, download this helpful worksheet to calculate the cost difference of what you pay for electric generation with SVCE.

**Watch our Understanding Your Bill video below for a quick overview of what you need to know about SVCE charges on your PG&E Energy Statement.**

image of sample bill - for assistance reading this online please reach out to information@svcleanenergy.org

1

Account Number
This is your PG&E account number. SVCE also references this number for customer service purposes.

2

PG&E Delivery Charges
PG&E charge to deliver electricity over their existing transmission lines, maintain infrastructure and other fees to support customer service and billing.

3

SVCE Generation Charge
This charge is to cover Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s cost of purchasing clean electricity for customers as well as required taxes.

4

Total Amount Due
Includes PG&E’s electric delivery charge, SVCE’s electric generation service and PG&E gas service, if applicable. This is the total amount you pay to for your electricity service, conveniently on one bill.

5

Your Electric Charges Breakdown
This is the sum of charges from transmission, distribution and other fees, taxes and programs that fund regional or statewide programs such as assistance and efficiency rebate programs.

image of sample bill - for assistance reading this online please reach out to information@svcleanenergy.org

6

Service Agreement ID
A service agreement documents your particular arrangement with PG&E (including billing days, metering information, and other factors) in order to calculate applicable charges. For customers with multiple meters under a single PG&E account, each meter will have a unique Service Agreement ID number.

7

Rate Schedule
Time of Use Rate Schedule charges consumers depend on the time of the day they generate electricity. Peak Pricing is during the hours of 4-9 p.m. every day in which electricity rates are highest. The remaining 19 hours of the day are considered “Off Peak” and electricity rates are lower. Customers on a tiered rate do not have a rate schedule and will have a tier usage indication instead.

8

Generation Credit & Baseline Credit
Now that SVCE provides generation services, PG&E credits back to your account the amount they would have charged for the same generation services. This is applied to the bill as the Generation Credit. Customers who remain under a determined energy usage may also be eligible for a Baseline Credit. The allotment of energy available at the lowest price depends on where you live, you heating source and the season. Learn more at PG&E’s Baseline Allowance webpage.

9

Power Charge Indifference Adjustment
PG&E charges SVCE customers a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA), which is calculated based on the number of kilowatt-hours used each month. The PCIA is intended to ensure that SVCE customers pay the difference between what PG&E paid for power contracted to serve them prior to their switch, and the current market value of that power.  The PCIA charge is factored into SVCE’s rate setting process. In total, SVCE customers still save money compared to PG&E’s rates.

10

Franchise Fee Surcharge
The Franchise Fee is collected from PG&E to cover costs associated with rights to use public streets to provide gas and electric service. The Franchise Fee is factored into SVCE’s rate setting process. In total, customers still save money compared to PG&E’s rates.

11

Utility Users’ Tax
The Utility Users’ Tax varies from city-to-city in SVCE’s service area. This tax differs depending on which city or town you live in and may not apply to every community.

image of sample bill - for assistance reading this online please reach out to information@svcleanenergy.org

12

ESP Customer Number
This is your Energy Service Provider (ESP) customer number for SVCE.

13

Rate Schedule
This is your rate schedule determined by PG&E.

14

Net Charges
This is the SVCE generation cost, based on the number of kilowatt hours (kWh) used times the SVCE generation rate for the hours in which electricity was used.

15

Utility Users’ Tax 
The Utility Users’ Tax varies from city-to-city in SVCE’s service area, and may not apply to every community in our jurisdiction.

16

Energy Surcharge
This fee is collected on behalf of the California Energy Commission and applies to all customers, regardless of service provider. The California legislature established the Energy Commission tax in 1975. The tax provides additional funding for the California Energy Commission.

Questions? We’re Here To Help

SVCE and PG&E are dedicated to working together to make your power service and billing as simple and convenient as we can. If you have questions about your SVCE charges, call us at 1-844-474-SVCE (7823) or email us at customerservice@SVCleanEnergy.org. For questions about other PG&E charges, call PG&E at 1-866-743-0335.