Rates FAQ

Normally, we read your meter every 27-33 days for billing purposes. The next scheduled read date appears in the top section of your SCE statement. 

Your electric meter is probably located on an outside wall of your house or apartment, about 5-feet off the ground, and accessible from the street or sidewalk.

It should be near the main electrical panel of breakers or fuses.

The smart meter cycles through different screen displays, and each screen stays visible for five seconds. Look for the screen that displays “001” in the upper left-hand corner of the meter display. This screen will provide you with the recorded total kWh consumption value.

Every time you use one-kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity, the meter screen display (the 4-digit code on the right of the screen) will increase by one number. The speed at which the kWh value increases depends on how much electricity you use at a given time. The digital display represents a “cumulative” read and works like a car’s odometer (i.e., the total number of miles your car has been driven).

To figure your total kWh energy use for a given time, subtract an earlier reading from your current reading.

Every residential customer on the Residential Plan pays one or more of the following CPUC-approved charges:

• Generation — These charges reflect the amount included in your rate for recovery of energy procurement and generation costs.
• Transmission Charges—These charges recover the costs of transporting electricity over long distances, such as from generating stations to substations in your neighborhood.
• Distribution Charges — These charges recover costs for transporting electricity from your neighborhood substation to your home.
• Nuclear Decommissioning Charge — This state mandated charge serves to recover costs for dismantling its nuclear power plants after they are retired from operation.
• Public Purpose Program Charge—This charge recovers costs for administering state-mandated programs such as the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) discount and energy efficiency programs.
• Other Charges—These charges include the CPUC reimbursement fee, city and state taxes, and affiliated billing charges.
• Basic Charges — These charges recover a portion of costs for services such as meter reading, customer service, and customer billing.

State law directs the CPUC to establish baseline allocations. Baseline quantities were determined after an extensive study of average residential electricity usage across climatic regions adopted by the California Energy Commission as modified by the CPUC. Baseline regions identify climatic areas based on temperature and altitude where electric consumption patterns are similar and take into account seasonal variations in energy consumption.

In October 2009, the CPUC approved SCE's request to change the number of residential baseline regions from 6 to 9, and re-map the baseline regions to more closely match the California Energy Commissions climate regions, building codes and population. Please review the chart showing baseline allocations for SCE's service territory. To learn more about all of SCE's 9 baseline regions, where they are, and what communities belong to each region, see the baseline regions map and the index of communities

Baseline was never intended to cover 100% of average residential use, but rather to provide a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs to be charged at the lowest rate, and to encourage conservation of energy.

The CPUC established that the baseline quantities be allocated at 50% to 60% of average residential consumption for basic services such as lighting, cooking, heating and refrigeration, except for residential gas and all-electric residential customers, the baseline quantity is established at 60% to 70% of the average residential consumption during the winter heating season.

In SCE's 1985 General Rate Case, the CPUC adopted a proposal from the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, establishing a higher baseline quantity during the summer season due to the extreme heat experienced in that region.

The CPUC reviews baseline quantities every 3–5 years, during the utilities' rate case proceedings. The CPUC does hold public participation hearings as part of the proceedings to afford consumers the opportunity to voice their concerns. Notification of public hearings are included on your bill when a utility rate case is being considered.

Yes. All estimated bills automatically include the full amount of the baseline allocation for the account.

Baseline was purposefully established based on the average residential consumption within climatic regions, with variations during the winter and summer seasons. Because the baseline allocations were set at average, it considers the variety of differences in family size, appliances, etc.

The legislature intended that the baseline allocations provide from 50% to 70% of the average residential use within a climatic region during the summer and the winter seasons. It is the intent of baseline to encourage conservation and reward customers for conserving a portion of their electricity charged at the lowest rate.

Qualifying customers dependent on electrically operated life-support equipment receive additional allowances. If a residential customer provides certification from a medical doctor or osteopath (on SCE's Medical Baseline form) that a full-time resident of the household requires the regular use of an electrically-operated, medical life-support device essential to sustain, restore, or supplant a vital function, or mechanical equipment which is relied upon for mobility both within and outside of buildings, they are eligible to receive a standard year-round medical baseline allocation of 16.5 kWh per day in addition to the standard baseline allocation. Customers with life-support devices that require more than the standard daily medical baseline allocation may apply for a higher allocation.

If the California Independent System Operator (CA- ISO) declares a Stage 3 Emergency and calls for firm load reduction, SCE will implement its auto dialer system to notify its medical baseline customers for which it has a telephone number. The notification is made first to customers identified as critical care, then to the remaining medical baseline customers. The notification is a pre-recorded, 30-second message warning of the Stage 3 Emergency and to be prepared for a rotating outage. Customer accounts and telephone numbers are updated to the auto dialer list weekly.

During rate case proceedings, the CPUC reviews the baseline, along with other consumer programs, to determine if changes should be made. The CPUC also holds public participation hearings so consumers will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns. Notification of hearings is included on the customer bill. The CPUC also posts hearing dates and locations on its website.