Climate Credit
Twice a year, California residents receive an electric credit on their utility bill identified as the “California Climate Credit,” and once a year, they receive a similar credit for natural gas. The California Climate Credit is part of California’s efforts to fight climate change. These credits are from a state program that requires power plants, natural gas distributors and other large industries that emit greenhouse gases to buy carbon pollution permits. The credits represent residential utility ratepayers’ share of the payments from the state’s program. The credit program was created by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which also oversees the program’s implementation.
Currently, all residential and eligible small business electricity customers of PG&E, SDG&E, SCE, Pacific Power, and Liberty Utilities receive the electric credit, as do all Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) customers. Natural gas residential customers of PG&E, SoCalGas®, Southwest Gas, and SDG&E receive the natural gas credit. Customers don’t need to do anything in order to receive the credits – they are automatically applied to their bills. The credit amounts vary among utilities and CCAs, and from year to year.
If you’re not sure whether you’re receiving the Climate Credit, the first thing to do is contact your utility or CCA, the same as you would do with any billing questions. Your utility or CCA can answer questions about individual accounts.
| Electric Bill Provider |
Credit Applied to Bill |
|---|---|
SDG&E |
$31.32 |
PG&E |
$27.70 |
Liberty Utilities |
$46.16 |
SCE |
$33.00 |
Pacific Power |
$159.67 |
| Natural Gas Bill Provider |
Credit Applied to Bill |
|---|---|
SDG&E |
**$33.94 |
PG&E |
$25.45 |
Southwest Gas |
$24.86 |
SoCalGas |
**$50.23 |
| Liberty Utilities * | 1-800-782-2506 |
| San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) | 1-800-411-7343 |
| Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) | Residential 1-800-743-5000 Business 1-800-468-4743 |
| SoCalGas | 1-800-427-2200 |
| Southwest Gas* | 1-877-860-6020 |
| Southern California Edison (SCE) | 1-800-655-4555 |
| Pacific Power * | Residential 1-888-221-7070 Business 1-866-870-3419 |
More information on the California Public Utilities Commission website
California Climate Credit: click here
* Liberty Utilities, Pacific Power, and Southwest Gas are participating in the California Climate Credit program; however, they are not involved with the Energy Upgrade California Program. Please contact your local utility regarding incentives, rebates, and other programs.
**The 2018 natural gas credits for SDG&E ($15.42) and SoCalGas ($26.22) have been combined with 2019 credits, SDG&E ($18.52) and SoCalGas ($24.01). Thus, the credit on your 2019 bills may be higher than expected.