What a refrigerator costs to run in California
California homes use 831 kWh a year on a refrigerator. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $128.16 to $430.48 a year across 115 published California plans — a $302.32 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 | $88.83 | −$39.33 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Single Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $88.83 | −$39.33 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $96.42 | −$31.74 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $96.48 | −$31.68 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $128.16 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $132.02 | +$3.86 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $132.28 | +$4.12 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $134.93 | +$6.77 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $142.43 | +$14.27 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $145.66 | +$17.50 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $147.33 | +$19.17 | 13.8¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $149.12 | +$20.96 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $163.59 | +$35.43 | 16.6¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $166.35 | +$38.19 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $168.48 | +$40.32 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $181.91 | +$53.75 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $182.65 | +$54.49 | 22.0¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $191.32 | +$63.16 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $192.12 | +$63.96 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $199.32 | +$71.16 | 17.9¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $202.49 | +$74.33 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $203.28 | +$75.12 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $205.00 | +$76.84 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $205.80 | +$77.64 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $206.64 | +$78.48 | 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 $430.48 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 $79.44 (Residential Service), dearest $266.76, a $187.32 spread
- Average — cheapest $128.16 (Residential Service), dearest $430.48, a $302.32 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $164.04 (Residential Service), dearest $550.80, a $386.76 spread
What a refrigerator costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a refrigerator adds $128.16 to $430.48 a year — $10.68 to $35.87 a month. The median plan puts a refrigerator at $316.49 a year.
Cheapest for a refrigerator: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 831 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 831 kWh a year across 1148 sampled homes that run one, near the national 839 kWh. The middle half spans 515 kWh to 1,063 kWh, so a refrigerator varies by 548 kWh between one household and another.
Every refrigerator in the home, including a second one in a garage or basement. That average covers homes with a refrigerator — 100% of homes here.
That makes a refrigerator about 13% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 5,651 kWh is what a refrigerator 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), $128.16; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $182.65; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $202.49; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $274.50; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $316.49.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $188.33 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 831 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a refrigerator
A household in the lighter quarter runs a refrigerator for 515 kWh a year and pays $79.44 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 1,063 kWh and pays $164.04 — $84.60 more for a refrigerator 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.