San Mateo County Residents To See Change In Energy Use Plans

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — PG&E and Peninsula Clean Energy are moving approximately 200,000 residents in San Mateo County to a new time-of-use rate plan that will charge customers more for using energy during the peak pricing hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In a news release on Tuesday, officials said the move would encourage customers to shift some energy use to time periods when demand and rates are lower and renewable resources are more available.

The shift will take place in September, and residents who are transitioned to the time-of-use rate plan will receive a credit for the difference if they pay more under the new plan than they would have on their current rate plan for the first 12 months. Customers can choose another rate plan if they would like to, according to PG&E.

Investor-owned electric utilities are required to automatically transition customers to the time-of-use plan, according to the news release, and PG&E doesn’t profit from the transition. The changes are part of a statewide energy policy that attempts to create a cleaner energy future.

“By encouraging energy use when solar generation is most abundant, this rate plan change will allow our customers to assert more control over meeting the aggressive clean power goals they desire and which we have been setting in place,” Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper said. “This nicely complements the track record of Peninsula Clean Energy and other community-based providers that are at the forefront of offering affordable and reliable emission-free power before it is too late to mitigate the most harmful effects of climate change.”