The proposed new rate, referred to as “TOU-ELEC,” aims to promote residential behind-the-meter electrification and would be available to bundled and unbundled customers who have at least one of the following: 1) an electric vehicle (“EV”), 2) an energy storage device, or 3) an electric heat pump for either water heating or climate control. The rate features un-tiered volumetric charges, and a fixed charge based on a customer’s maximum demand. Protests and Responses are Due October 1.
Under SDG&E’s current residential rate structure, increased usage is met with increased volumetric charges as customers reach higher usage tiers. The Application points out that this tier progression serves as a disincentive for electrification. The proposed rate would serve to mitigate this disincentive by removing the volumetric usage tiers and adding a monthly fixed charge based on a customer’s three maximum daily non-coincident historical peaks over the prior 12 months.
Both bundled and unbundled customers would be able to take service on this rate. Unbundled residential customers who choose to opt-in to the rate would see the rates shown below and a separate commodity rate set by the CCA. Since TOU differentials are driven by the commodity component of volumetric rates, unbundled customers would have these differentials set by their commodity provider, which may or may not be similar to the commodity differentials in SDG&E’s rate. Since the fixed charge component of the rate recovers costs associated with UDC service, unbundled customers enrolling in TOU-ELEC would still see savings in their volumetric rates relative to SDG&E’s other residential rate options
Table HC-7 compares TOU-ELEC with SDG&E's existing untiered residential rate DR-SES.
