SDG&E Expands Lower-Cost Daytime Pricing

San Diego Gas & Electric has expanded lower-priced daytime electricity hours past March and April, giving more households access to cheaper midday power on selected time-of-use plans. (sandiegouniontribune.com) The utility’s standard residential time-of-use plan, TOU-DR1, is now effective April 1, 2026 with three periods, and SDG&E says typical households are most likely on that rate. SDG&E’s pricing pages also say most residential plans remain available whether a customer buys generation from SDG&E or a community choice program. (sdge.com, sdge.com) Time-of-use pricing means electricity costs change by hour, not just by how much a home uses. SDG&E defines peak hours as 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., while off-peak hours are generally outside that window and some plans add an even cheaper “super off-peak” period. (sdge.com) SDG&E’s customer materials say shifting use outside 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. can lower bills and make better use of renewable energy when it is available. On the TOU-DR1 fact sheet, the lowest-cost period runs from midnight to 6 a.m. on weekdays and midnight to 2 p.m. on weekends and holidays. (sdge.com) The new push extends that cheaper daytime window beyond a short spring trial, when California’s grid often has abundant solar production around midday. The Union-Tribune reported April 20 that the broader change also reaches customers served by San Diego County’s two community choice energy programs. (sandiegouniontribune.com) The change lands as SDG&E keeps steering customers toward plans that reward flexible use rather than flat all-day pricing. Its plan chooser says TOU-DR1 is best for customers who can use energy during super off-peak hours, while TOU-ELEC targets homes with an electric vehicle, battery storage or an electric heat pump. (sdge.com, sdge.com) The numbers vary sharply by plan. On SDG&E’s EV-TOU-5 tariff effective January 1, 2026, the total summer super off-peak rate is listed at about 12.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, versus about 50.2 cents off-peak and about 79.99 cents on-peak. (sdge.com) Customers do not all have the same rate schedule, and community choice customers do not pay SDG&E’s bundled generation charge in the same way as bundled SDG&E customers. SDG&E tells customers to use My Energy Center and its pricing-plan tools to compare options and check whether a switch takes effect immediately or after processing. (sdge.com, sdge.com, msn.com) For customers who can move laundry, dishwashing, water heating or vehicle charging into the middle of the day, the savings depend less on using less power than on using it at cheaper hours. The fine print is the rate plan: SDG&E’s own materials say households should match their schedule to how they actually use electricity. (sdge.com, sdge.com)