What a separate freezer costs to run in California
California homes use 524 kWh a year on a separate freezer. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $80.76 to $271.32 a year across 115 published California plans — a $190.56 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 | $55.99 | −$24.77 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $55.99 | −$24.77 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $60.74 | −$20.02 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $60.84 | −$19.92 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $80.76 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $84.43 | +$3.67 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $84.56 | +$3.80 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $87.48 | +$6.72 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $92.24 | +$11.48 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $94.61 | +$13.85 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $95.10 | +$14.34 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $99.91 | +$19.15 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $105.34 | +$24.58 | 16.6¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $106.17 | +$25.41 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $106.98 | +$26.22 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $115.07 | +$34.31 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $116.90 | +$36.14 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $120.57 | +$39.81 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $121.08 | +$40.32 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $125.66 | +$44.90 | 17.9¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $127.65 | +$46.89 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $129.00 | +$48.24 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $129.20 | +$48.44 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $129.72 | +$48.96 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $130.24 | +$49.48 | 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 $271.32 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 $56.40 (Residential Service), dearest $189.48, a $133.08 spread
- Average — cheapest $80.76 (Residential Service), dearest $271.32, a $190.56 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $98.88 (Residential Service), dearest $331.92, a $233.04 spread
What a separate freezer costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a separate freezer adds $80.76 to $271.32 a year — $6.73 to $22.61 a month. The median plan puts a separate freezer at $199.49 a year.
Cheapest for a separate freezer: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 524 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 524 kWh a year across 223 sampled homes that run one, near the national 570 kWh. The middle half spans 366 kWh to 641 kWh, so a separate freezer varies by 275 kWh between one household and another.
A standalone chest or upright freezer, not the freezer compartment of a fridge. That average covers homes with a separate freezer — 19% of homes here, against 33% nationally.
That makes a separate freezer about 8% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 5,958 kWh is what a separate freezer 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), $80.76; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $115.07; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $127.65; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $172.98; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $199.49.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $118.73 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 524 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a separate freezer
A household in the lighter quarter runs a separate freezer for 366 kWh a year and pays $56.40 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 641 kWh and pays $98.88 — $42.48 more for a separate freezer 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.