What charging an electric vehicle at home costs to run in California
California homes use 1,632 kWh a year on charging an electric vehicle at home. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $251.88 to $845.68 a year across 115 published California plans — a $593.80 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 - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $174.57 | −$77.31 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Single Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $174.57 | −$77.31 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $189.41 | −$62.47 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $189.60 | −$62.28 | 13.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $248.24 | −$3.64 | 15.1¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $251.88 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $255.11 | +$3.23 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $256.91 | +$5.03 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $259.85 | +$7.97 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $267.22 | +$15.34 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $271.07 | +$19.19 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $286.76 | +$34.88 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $308.01 | +$56.13 | 16.6¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $313.64 | +$61.76 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $330.99 | +$79.11 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $349.66 | +$97.78 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $358.93 | +$107.05 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $364.65 | +$112.77 | 17.9¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $375.86 | +$123.98 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $377.46 | +$125.58 | 15.7¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $396.96 | +$145.08 | 24.2¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $397.79 | +$145.91 | 24.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $400.13 | +$148.25 | 23.5¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $402.72 | +$150.84 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $404.40 | +$152.52 | 19.3¢ |
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 $845.68 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 $89.88 (Residential Service), dearest $301.56, a $211.68 spread
- Average — cheapest $251.88 (Residential Service), dearest $845.68, a $593.80 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $334.92 (Residential Service), dearest $1,124.13, a $789.21 spread
What charging an electric vehicle at home costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, charging an electric vehicle at home adds $251.88 to $845.68 a year — $20.99 to $70.47 a month. The median plan puts charging an electric vehicle at home at $621.56 a year.
Cheapest for charging an electric vehicle at home: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Coastal Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 1,632 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 12.3¢ per kWh.
What California homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 1,632 kWh a year across 48 sampled homes that run one, 31% under the national 2,363 kWh. The middle half spans 582 kWh to 2,170 kWh, so charging an electric vehicle at home varies by 1,588 kWh between one household and another.
Electricity delivered to the vehicle at home. Public and workplace charging is billed elsewhere and is not in this figure. That average covers homes that charge an electric vehicle — 3% of homes here.
That makes charging an electric vehicle at home about 25% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 4,849 kWh is what charging an electric vehicle at home 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), $251.88; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $358.93; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $397.79; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $539.22; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $621.81.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $369.93 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 1,632 kWh.
Light and heavy use of charging an electric vehicle at home
A household in the lighter quarter runs charging an electric vehicle at home for 582 kWh a year and pays $89.88 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 2,170 kWh and pays $334.92 — $245.04 more for charging an electric vehicle at home 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.