Understanding your energy bill can be confusing, especially after installing solar panels. Electricity bills can include a variety of charges, terms, and billing options. This guide is intended to help Southern California Edison (SCE) customers understand the different elements of their bill, how billing cycles work and how to make sense of energy costs and credits.
Billing Options: Monthly vs. Annual
SCE offers two primary billing structures:
- Monthly Billing Option (MBO): Fixed service fees and energy usage charges are billed each month.
- Annual Billing Option (ABO): Fixed fees are billed monthly, but total energy usage charges are calculated and billed once at the end of a 12-month cycle. The final bill is referred to as a Settlement Bill or True-Up Bill.
The type of billing cycle you’re enrolled in can be found on page 1 of your bill under Account Summary. Not all customers are on the same 12-month schedule, as it depends on your service start date.
Advantages of Annual Billing
ABO is often preferred by solar customers because it allows energy credits earned during high-production months (e.g., summer) to offset energy usage in lower-production months (e.g., winter). Offsetting higher winter energy usage with solar credits accumulated during the summer primarily benefits clients under NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0. This advantage is reduced for those on the NEM 3.0 rate structure. MBO resets each month, which means energy credits cannot carry forward within the same annual cycle.
To track your billing cycle and estimated Settlement Bill date, check page 3 of your bill under “Stay informed about your annual bill.”
New Charges
These are monthly charges that all SCE customers receive, which include:
- Service Fees: Standard monthly fees.
- Non-Bypassable Charges (NBCs): Per-kilowatt-hour fees used to support public energy programs, grid maintenance, and related infrastructure. These charges cannot be offset with solar energy credits.
Tracked Charges
This section of the bill shows your electricity usage from the grid and breaks it into:
- Delivery Charges: Cost to deliver electricity to your home.
- Generation Charges: Cost to generate the electricity you use.
Usage is also broken down by time-of-use categories:
- On-Peak: Highest energy rates (typically during high demand).
- Mid-Peak: Moderate rates.
- Off-Peak: Lower rates.
- Super Off-Peak: Lowest rates (often overnight).
If your energy provider is Clean Power Alliance (CPA) instead of SCE, your generation charges will appear in a separate section of your bill.
Year-to-Date Energy Charges
Next to the Tracked Charges section is a summary of your year-to-date energy charges. Reviewing this monthly helps prevent unexpected charges on your annual Settlement Bill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn’t my solar production reflected on my bill?
SCE typically takes 1–2 billing cycles to apply solar credits. Also, only excess solar energy sent back to the grid is shown—energy consumed directly by your home or stored in your battery isn’t included in the bill summary.
Why haven’t I received a bill yet?
It can take up to two billing cycles after your solar system becomes active for your account to reflect those changes. If you haven’t received a bill, contact SCE’s Billing Department at (866) 701-7868.
Why do my generation charges come from Clean Power Alliance (CPA)?
SCE and CPA collaborate to provide cleaner energy options. CPA replaces SCE’s generation charges and offers different renewable energy tiers:
- Lean Power (40%): Mix of renewable and hydro power.
- Clean Power (50%): Half renewable, half hydroelectric.
- 100% Green Power: 100% renewable from wind, solar, and geothermal sources.
