Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will reduce electric rates for customers starting January 1, 2026. This marks the fourth rate decrease in two years. The company also announced that natural gas rates will go down at the same time.
PG&E stated that with these changes, residential electric rates will be 11% lower than they were in January 2024. A typical residential customer will see about $20 less on their monthly bill compared to early 2024.
Patti Poppe, CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation, said, “We know how important stable and predictable bills are for families and businesses. That’s why we are lowering rates, even as national prices are expected to rise. Our actions match our promises: we’ve reduced electric rates multiple times since 2024, and we remain committed to finding new ways to save and pass those savings on to our customers.”
While the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects national electric prices to rise by nearly 10% between 2024 and 2026, PG&E says its own electric prices have stabilized or decreased during this period.
The new rate cut means residential electric rates for customers who receive both electricity supply and delivery from PG&E will fall by about 5%. Customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program will see a decrease of around 6%. On average, typical residential customers using about 500 kilowatt hours per month can expect their bills to drop by approximately $7 per month; CARE customers’ bills will decrease by about $4 per month.
Natural gas rates from PG&E will also decrease on January 1, with a reduction of about 3% for most customers and roughly 2.6% for CARE participants. These decreases are attributed to certain costs being removed from rates and lower greenhouse gas compliance expenses. For a typical household using around 31 therms monthly, this equates to a savings of about $1 each month.
PG&E noted that it does not add markup to energy supply costs for natural gas bills; these change based on market conditions each month. The company manages price fluctuations by purchasing gas from various sources, storing when prices are low, and using financial tools against winter spikes.
Customers who use Direct Access (DA) or Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) providers should contact those organizations directly regarding any changes in generation rates since PG&E does not set those charges.
PG&E serves more than sixteen million people across Northern and Central California within an area covering approximately 70,000 square miles. More information is available at pge.com and pge.com/news.
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