Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) remains one of California’s largest utilities, serving about 16 million people across Northern and Central California. That scale matters because when PG&E changes rates, the effect shows up quickly in household budgets, small-business planning, and the broader affordability debate across the state.
The big 2026 story is this: PG&E bills are still being shaped by major safety and grid investments approved in the company’s 2023–2026 General Rate Case, but customers are no longer looking at the same 2024-style bill increase story. In 2026, PG&E’s electric usage rates have moved down, gas costs have ticked up slightly, and the company has rolled out a new bill design that moves some fixed costs out of the per-kWh price and into a separate monthly charge.
What actually changed in 2026
PG&E’s residential bundled non-CARE electric average rate dropped from 44.36 cents per kWh in September 2025 to 41.46 cents on January 1, 2026, and then fell again to 40.60 cents on March 1, 2026. For a typical bundled residential customer using 500 kWh per month, PG&E’s March 2026 advisory shows an average electric bill of $203.54, down from $208.68 in January.
Natural gas moved the other way, but only slightly. PG&E’s March 2026 gas advisory shows the average bundled non-CARE residential gas rate rising from $2.784 to $2.792 per therm, pushing the typical monthly gas bill from $86.30 to $86.54 for a customer using 31 therms.
Put those two official examples together and a typical bundled non-CARE residential customer lands at about $290.08 per month before any climate credit is applied, based on PG&E’s standard illustrative assumptions. That is why 2026 is better described as a bill reshuffle than a single clean “rate hike.”
Why PG&E bills are still under pressure
The underlying cost story has not disappeared. The CPUC’s 2023 decision in PG&E’s General Rate Case approved major spending to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen the grid, including 1,230 miles of undergrounding, 778 miles of covered conductor, about $1.3 billion for vegetation management, and more than $2.5 billion in electric distribution upgrades from 2023 through 2026. Those investments were approved to improve safety, reliability, and readiness for higher electric demand, including new connections and transportation electrification.
At the same time, some previously authorized costs are now rolling out of rates. PG&E’s March 2026 electric advisory says one major reason for the latest decrease is that recovery of certain wildfire mitigation and catastrophic event costs has ended, producing a net $499.5 million reduction in rates. PG&E also said in its March 2026 release that completed safety and reliability work coming out of rates exceeded the costs of new investments entering rates at that time.
The new Base Services Charge
Starting in March 2026, PG&E began using a new Base Services Charge on residential electric bills. PG&E says the charge separates some infrastructure, maintenance, billing, and customer-service costs from the per-kWh electricity price. The company’s current customer page says it is not a new fee, but a restructuring of how existing costs are collected.
For most customers, the Base Services Charge is about $24 per month. CARE customers pay about $6, while FERA customers pay about $12. The CPUC’s AB 205 fact sheet says this statewide restructuring was designed to cut residential electricity usage rates by roughly 5 to 7 cents per kWh and make electrification more affordable.
The practical effect is simple: customers who use more electricity may benefit more from the lower per-kWh price, while low-usage customers may feel the fixed charge more directly. PG&E itself notes that lower electricity prices may or may not lead to a lower total bill, depending on each customer’s usage.
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How PG&E compares with SCE and SDG&E in 2026
If you want the cleanest apples-to-apples comparison, the best current statewide source is the California Public Advocates Office. Its February 2026 report shows average residential electricity rates, excluding the California Climate Credit, at $0.350 per kWh for PG&E, $0.345 for Southern California Edison, and $0.457 for SDG&E as of January 1, 2026. That means PG&E is very close to SCE on this measure and still well below SDG&E.
The utility-specific notices tell a similar story, with different timing and billing assumptions. SCE’s January 1, 2026 advisory shows a new average residential rate of 34.5 cents per kWh and a typical 500 kWh monthly bill of $187.56. SDG&E’s January 2026 alert shows bundled residential average electric rates rising to 45.7 cents per kWh and a typical 400 kWh monthly bill of $195.
Historical context: why customers still feel squeezed
Even with recent electric-rate cuts at PG&E, the broader trend is still painful. The Public Advocates Office reports that PG&E’s average residential electricity rate was up 15% from January 2023 to January 2026, and up 76% over the ten-year period from January 2016 to January 2026. SCE and SDG&E also saw steep long-run increases, which helps explain why affordability remains a statewide political issue even when one utility posts a short-term decrease.
That long view matters more than any single monthly advisory. Californians are reacting not only to what changed this quarter, but to the cumulative effect of wildfire hardening, infrastructure replacement, insurance pressures, climate adaptation, and years of rate recovery layered on top of one another.
What residents can do right now
The first move is still efficiency. Under the new 2026 bill structure, lowering usage can still help, but the savings show up differently because part of the bill is now fixed. That makes high-impact measures more valuable: better insulation, HVAC tune-ups, heat-pump planning, efficient appliances, and smarter timing of electricity use. PG&E’s own bill redesign materials emphasize that the per-kWh price is lower, so usage choices still matter.
For income-qualified households, assistance remains one of the strongest tools. The CPUC says CARE provides a 30% to 35% electric discount and a 20% natural gas discount. FERA offers a lower-priced electric rate for households above CARE limits, and PG&E says that discount is about 18%. The CPUC’s Energy Savings Assistance program provides no-cost weatherization and home-efficiency upgrades for households that meet CARE or FERA income limits.
Customers facing shutoff risk have more than one option. PG&E says REACH can provide up to $800 toward a past-due bill, and LIHEAP can provide one-time utility bill help and weatherization through the California Department of Community Services and Development. Customers with qualifying medical conditions or medical equipment needs may also qualify for extra baseline energy allowances at the utility’s lowest residential rate through Medical Baseline.
What to watch next
There are two major things to watch from here. First, PG&E’s next General Rate Case is already in motion: the CPUC says PG&E filed its 2027 GRC application on May 15, 2025. That means today’s 2026 bill adjustments are not the end of the story.
Second, the California Climate Credit is changing in 2026. The CPUC says the 2026 electric residential credit for the large investor-owned utilities is proposed to move into higher-bill months, with August and September listed on the agency’s current page, and that proposal was scheduled for a Commission vote on April 30, 2026. So customers should expect the timing of bill credits to look different from the old April-and-October pattern.
The most accurate 2026 takeaway is not that PG&E simply “raised rates again.” It is that PG&E customers are paying through a more complicated transition: legacy wildfire and grid investments are still flowing through bills, electric usage rates have recently come down, gas costs are modestly higher, and the new Base Services Charge has changed how electric bills are built.
For California residents, the smart response is not panic. It is bill literacy. Understand your usage, check whether you qualify for CARE, FERA, ESA, REACH, LIHEAP, or Medical Baseline, and watch CPUC and PG&E updates closely because 2026 is a transition year, not a settled endpoint.
FAQs
Is PG&E imposing one big 2026 rate hike?
No. PG&E’s electric rates decreased on January 1, 2026 and again on March 1, 2026, while gas rates increased slightly in March and the company introduced the Base Services Charge on electric bills.
What is the latest typical PG&E residential bill example?
As of March 1, 2026, PG&E’s advisory shows a typical bundled non-CARE electric bill of $203.54 at 500 kWh and a typical bundled non-CARE gas bill of $86.54 at 31 therms.
What is the Base Services Charge?
It is the new fixed electric charge on residential bills that began in March 2026. It is about $24 per month for most customers, about $6 for CARE customers, and about $12 for FERA customers. The goal is to move some fixed system costs out of the per-kWh rate and lower the usage price of electricity.
How does PG&E compare with other large California utilities?
As of January 1, 2026, the Public Advocates Office reported average residential electricity rates of $0.350/kWh for PG&E, $0.345/kWh for SCE, and $0.457/kWh for SDG&E, excluding the Climate Credit.
What programs can help if I cannot afford my bill?
CARE, FERA, Energy Savings Assistance, REACH, LIHEAP, and Medical Baseline are all current options depending on your income and circumstances.
