What electric space heating costs to run in California
California homes use 605 kWh a year on electric space heating. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $93.36 to $313.56 a year across 115 published California plans — a $220.20 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Cheapest 25 of 115 priced plans, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Single Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $64.68 | −$28.68 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $64.68 | −$28.68 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $70.21 | −$23.15 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $70.32 | −$23.04 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $93.36 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $97.18 | +$3.82 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $97.34 | +$3.98 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $100.09 | +$6.73 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $105.89 | +$12.53 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $108.30 | +$14.94 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $109.43 | +$16.07 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $113.96 | +$20.60 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $120.80 | +$27.44 | 16.6¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $122.70 | +$29.34 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $122.72 | +$29.36 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $133.08 | +$39.72 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $134.16 | +$40.80 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $139.33 | +$45.97 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $139.92 | +$46.56 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $145.20 | +$51.84 | 17.9¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $147.48 | +$54.12 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $148.68 | +$55.32 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $149.28 | +$55.92 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $149.88 | +$56.52 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $150.54 | +$57.18 | 23.5¢ |
90 further schedules are published and priced but not listed here — mostly regional and seasonal variants of the plans above. The dearest of them costs $313.56 a year at this usage.
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $10.32 (Residential Service), dearest $34.62, a $24.30 spread
- Average — cheapest $93.36 (Residential Service), dearest $313.56, a $220.20 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $108.36 (Residential Service), dearest $363.84, a $255.48 spread
What electric space heating costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, electric space heating adds $93.36 to $313.56 a year — $7.78 to $26.13 a month. The median plan puts electric space heating at $230.54 a year.
Cheapest for electric space heating: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 605 kWh are billed at 15.4¢–51.8¢, against a 39.5¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 12.4¢ per kWh.
What California homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 605 kWh a year across 439 sampled homes that run one, 76% under the national 2,484 kWh. The middle half spans 67 kWh to 702 kWh, so electric space heating varies by 635 kWh between one household and another.
All electricity used for space heating, including the furnace or heat-pump compressor and the air handler that moves the heat around the house. That average covers homes heated with electricity — 39% of homes here, against 52% nationally.
That makes electric space heating about 9% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 5,877 kWh is what electric space heating is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each California provider's cheapest plan: City of Redding, California (Utility Company), $93.36; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $133.08; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $147.48; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $199.92; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $230.54.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $137.18 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 605 kWh.
Light and heavy use of electric space heating
A household in the lighter quarter runs electric space heating for 67 kWh a year and pays $10.32 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 702 kWh and pays $108.36 — $98.04 more for electric space heating on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for California, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 115 California tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 40.5865, -122.3917.