What a pool pump costs to run in California
California homes use 1,765 kWh a year on a pool pump. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $272.28 to $914.32 a year across 115 published California plans — a $642.04 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 | $188.65 | −$83.63 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $188.65 | −$83.63 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $204.74 | −$67.54 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $204.96 | −$67.32 | 13.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $266.94 | −$5.34 | 15.1¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $272.28 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $274.21 | +$1.93 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $275.89 | +$3.61 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $277.69 | +$5.41 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $287.67 | +$15.39 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $290.95 | +$18.67 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $308.44 | +$36.16 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $331.37 | +$59.09 | 16.6¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $335.22 | +$62.94 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $357.84 | +$85.56 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $375.36 | +$103.08 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $387.97 | +$115.69 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $390.02 | +$117.74 | 17.9¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $406.33 | +$134.05 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $408.12 | +$135.84 | 15.7¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $429.00 | +$156.72 | 24.2¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $429.03 | +$156.75 | 23.5¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $430.09 | +$157.81 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $435.40 | +$163.12 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $437.16 | +$164.88 | 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 $914.32 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 $104.04 (Residential Service), dearest $349.32, a $245.28 spread
- Average — cheapest $272.28 (Residential Service), dearest $914.32, a $642.04 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $311.52 (Residential Service), dearest $1,045.92, a $734.40 spread
What a pool pump costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a pool pump adds $272.28 to $914.32 a year — $22.69 to $76.19 a month. The median plan puts a pool pump at $671.84 a year.
Cheapest for a pool pump: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Coastal Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 1,765 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 1,765 kWh a year across 102 sampled homes that run one, 26% under the national 2,384 kWh. The middle half spans 674 kWh to 2,019 kWh, so a pool pump varies by 1,344 kWh between one household and another.
The circulation pump and its filtration cycle. Pool heating is not included. That average covers homes with a pool pump — 7% of homes here.
That makes a pool pump about 27% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 4,717 kWh is what a pool pump 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), $272.28; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $387.97; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $430.09; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $582.96; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $672.23.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $399.95 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 1,765 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a pool pump
A household in the lighter quarter runs a pool pump for 674 kWh a year and pays $104.04 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 2,019 kWh and pays $311.52 — $207.48 more for a pool pump 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.