Understanding the PG&E Personal Electric Vehicle Charging Schedules

[Eric Mersch]

Hello Tesla Drivers

Recently, I had a long discussion with a PG&E representative at the Building and Renovation Service Center (BRSC) at 1-877-743-7782 to better understand the electric rate schedules and to help me choose the best possible rate for charging my tesla S.I've prepared the following overview for those in my situation.

E-1 Rate Schedule

Currently, my PG&E account is calculated using a rate schedule referred to as E-1. Accounts on this schedule pay a rate that varies with the difference between actual power usage and a “baseline” power usage. The magnitude of the difference drives the actual rate, which varies from $0.13 per Kilowatt-hour (abbreviated kWh) to $0.35 per kWh. The baseline is calculated using the per home energy usage of comparable homes (# bedrooms and square footage and main variables and Zip Code are the main variables used in the calculation). But, the most important point is that the E-1 rate does not vary with the time of day. So, right now, it doesn’t matter when I charge the car.

E-9 Rate Schedule

Currently, I have the option to shift billing to a “time of use rate” schedule, which is referred to as an E-9 rate schedule. There are two subcategories to this schedule: E9-A for homes with single meters; and, E9-B for homes with double meters.
Since I have a single meter, I can only change our billing to the E9-A rate schedule, which has a set of rates for summer and for winter.
Under the current summer rate schedule, there is a range of rates for three different times of the day: Off-Peak, Partial- Peak, and Peak. Off-Peak runs from Midnight to 7:00am; Partial-Peak runs from 7:00am to 2:00pm; Peak hours are from 2:00pm to 9:00pm; then, rates drop down to Partial-Peak from 9:00pm to midnight.

Each Off-Peak, Partial- Peak, and Peak hour range have their own range of rates. Again, the specific rate used for billing is based on the “baseline” concept. But, the rate used per time of day will fall into one of these three ranges, as follows:

Off-Peak: Low: 3.5¢ per kWh; High: 20¢ per kWh
Partial- Peak: Low: 9¢ per kWh; High: 34¢ per kWh
Peak: Low: 30¢ per kWh; High: 54¢ per kWh

For winter, the E9-A schedule is similar but has only two time of day periods: Off-Peak and Partial- Peak. Off-Peak runs from midnight to 7am; Partial-Peak runs from 7am to midnight. Rate ranges are the same.
The E-9 rate schedule is only available until August, which is just one month away. After August 1, PG&E will offer the EVA rate schedule.

EVA Rate Schedule

The EVA rate schedule is designed specifically for electric vehicles. It is much simpler to understand than the E-9 schedule because it eliminates the baseline concept. So, there are no “rate ranges” only fixed rates per time of day. The EVA rate schedule uses the same Off-Peak, Partial- Peak, and Peak times for summer and winter as described above. However, there are two main differences: First, the rates differ between summer and winter. And, second, there is only one rate per time of day. For summer and winter respectively, the rates are as follows:
Summer

Off-Peak: 9¢ per kWh;
Partial- Peak: 20¢ per kWh;
Peak: 37¢ per kWh

Winter
Off-Peak: 10¢ per kWh;
Partial- Peak: 16¢ per kWh;
Peak: 26¢ per kWh

Summary and Recommendation

I believe that it is best for me to switch to E9-A as soon as possible. Further, I plan to switch to EVA on August 1[SUP]st[/SUP].

Summary: The E9-A rate schedule saves me $100 per month. The EVA rate schedule saves me $150 per month. My home is in San Francisco Zip Code, 94112, and has 1,300 sq. ft. and 2 bedrooms.

 

[strider]

Thanks for this. I too will save ~$40 more on EVA than my current E9A. With 2 EV's we're regularly into Tier 5.

So they told you EVA was available on 8/1? I was hoping it would be available in July.

 

[ken830]

Any real documentation on the actual rates for the EV-A and EV-B schedules?

 

[Stoneymonster]

Throw solar in the mix and things get a bit trickier. Still trying to figure out what's best for me.

 

[MikeK]

Yes, solar makes things more complex, because with TOU, you want your peak rates to align as closely as possible with peak production hours.

 

[spaghetti]

Schedule EV delayed yet again

So I learnt from PG&E today that Schedule EV is delayed yet again - "...earliest availability is now September 1..." Can someone who is waiting to switch over confirm this? I am currently on E-1, and it is ridiculous how much I have to pay for charging my Model S, especially once I get into Tier 3 and 4 - which in summer happens early in the billing cycle for me.

 

[Kaivball]

I have solar panels and am on E-6.

I'd like to see how this would look for me.

 

[Kipernicus]

spaghetti, is anyone home much during the weekday? If not I'd say switch to E9A immediately, to tide you over until EV plan becomes available.

Eric Mersch, you didn't mention how much you drive every month, but it must be a lot for the EV plan to save you an additional $50 over E9A. At least that's what my calculations tell me, that you need to be hitting tier 4 or 5 before EV becomes better than E9A.

 

[spaghetti]

spaghetti, is anyone home much during the weekday? If not I'd say switch to E9A immediately, to tide you over until EV plan becomes available.

Thanks for the suggestion. I had dismissed E9A up until now, but it sounds like I should run a comprehensive analysis comparing E1, E9A, and EV plans. Someone is at home all day / everyday, so it will be interesting to see the results based on actual usage over the last couple months.

 

[strider]

spaghetti, is anyone home much during the weekday? If not I'd say switch to E9A immediately, to tide you over until EV plan becomes available.

Eric Mersch, you didn't mention how much you drive every month, but it must be a lot for the EV plan to save you an additional $50 over E9A. At least that's what my calculations tell me, that you need to be hitting tier 4 or 5 before EV becomes better than E9A.

spaghetti needs to check w/ PG&E as when I switched to E9A they said I would have to stay on it for a year before I could switch again. They should allow you to go to Schedule EV even if you're inside the 1-year on E9A since SEV is replacing E9A but I would verify.

With 2 EV's we are hitting Tier 5 on E9A regularly. No A/C and no one home during the day. Schedule EV will save me at least $40/month and likely more. I didn't bother pulling my detailed data, just built a worst-case scenario off my monthly bill.

 

[gregincal]

Whereas for me E-9A would save me some over E-6, but schedule EV would be far more expensive. My bills are really low anyway, though, so I probably won't bother to switch (used to generate more power than I used, still well within baseline with the Model S).

 

[jaanton]

In summer, the new EV schedule was looking better for me while in winter E-9A was better. If the new EV schedule isn't really available until winter then I'll probably not shift until next summer.

Although, I wonder if I stay with E-9A and then the EV schedule 'fills up' to its limit of 30,000 would I have to go back to E-1? Anyone know much about the "Phase 2 of the 2014 GRC" mentioned? It seems like a major schedule reworking.

 

[strider]

Whereas for me E-9A would save me some over E-6, but schedule EV would be far more expensive. My bills are really low anyway, though, so I probably won't bother to switch (used to generate more power than I used, still well within baseline with the Model S).

I think it goes w/o saying that if you have solar then Schedule EV is not a good idea. But for those of us w/o solar (we're renters) it can make sense.

As if on queue my PG&E bill arrived last night. 1,247kWh last month. 149 Peak, 250 Part peak, and 846 Off peak. That's tier 5 in every category. Come on Schedule EV!