What a microwave costs to run in California
California homes use 108 kWh a year on a microwave. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $16.56 to $55.92 a year across 115 published California plans — a $39.36 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Not indexed. This page does not yet meet the site’s own publication threshold — 83.1% similar to /cost-to-run/refrigerator/california, limit 82%. It is shown because the data behind it is real, not because it is complete.
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 | $11.51 | −$5.05 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $11.51 | −$5.05 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $12.48 | −$4.08 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $12.52 | −$4.04 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $16.56 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $17.96 | +$1.40 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $17.98 | +$1.42 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $19.01 | +$2.45 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $19.10 | +$2.54 | 15.2¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $20.04 | +$3.48 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $20.46 | +$3.90 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $21.90 | +$5.34 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $22.02 | +$5.46 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $22.86 | +$6.30 | 16.3¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $23.44 | +$6.88 | 16.6¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $23.68 | +$7.12 | 22.0¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $24.87 | +$8.31 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $24.96 | +$8.40 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $25.82 | +$9.26 | 17.5¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $25.89 | +$9.33 | 17.9¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $26.34 | +$9.78 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $26.60 | +$10.04 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $26.60 | +$10.04 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $26.76 | +$10.20 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $26.84 | +$10.28 | 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 $55.92 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 $9.24 (Residential Service), dearest $31.20, a $21.96 spread
- Average — cheapest $16.56 (Residential Service), dearest $55.92, a $39.36 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $20.64 (Residential Service), dearest $69.60, a $48.96 spread
What a microwave costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a microwave adds $16.56 to $55.92 a year — $1.38 to $4.66 a month. The median plan puts a microwave at $41.13 a year.
Cheapest for a microwave: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 108 kWh are billed at 15.3¢–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 108 kWh a year across 1101 sampled homes that run one, near the national 107 kWh. The middle half spans 60 kWh to 134 kWh, so a microwave varies by 74 kWh between one household and another.
Cooking and reheating, plus the standby draw of the clock and panel. That average covers homes with a microwave — 95% of homes here.
That makes a microwave about 2% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 6,374 kWh is what a microwave 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), $16.56; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $23.68; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $26.34; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $35.64; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $41.13.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $24.57 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 108 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a microwave
A household in the lighter quarter runs a microwave for 60 kWh a year and pays $9.24 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 134 kWh and pays $20.64 — $11.40 more for a microwave 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.