What TVs and streaming devices costs to run in California
California homes use 592 kWh a year on TVs and streaming devices. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $91.32 to $306.72 a year across 115 published California plans — a $215.40 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 | $63.28 | −$28.04 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $63.28 | −$28.04 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $68.68 | −$22.64 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $68.76 | −$22.56 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $91.32 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $95.10 | +$3.78 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $95.20 | +$3.88 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $98.01 | +$6.69 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $103.67 | +$12.35 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $106.04 | +$14.72 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $107.11 | +$15.79 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $111.75 | +$20.43 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $118.29 | +$26.97 | 16.6¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $120.03 | +$28.71 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $120.20 | +$28.88 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $130.14 | +$38.82 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $131.36 | +$40.04 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $136.28 | +$44.96 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $136.92 | +$45.60 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $142.03 | +$50.71 | 17.9¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $144.27 | +$52.95 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $145.44 | +$54.12 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $146.00 | +$54.68 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $146.64 | +$55.32 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $147.24 | +$55.92 | 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 $306.72 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 $37.80 (Residential Service), dearest $126.90, a $89.10 spread
- Average — cheapest $91.32 (Residential Service), dearest $306.72, a $215.40 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $118.20 (Residential Service), dearest $396.96, a $278.76 spread
What TVs and streaming devices costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, TVs and streaming devices adds $91.32 to $306.72 a year — $7.61 to $25.56 a month. The median plan puts TVs and streaming devices at $225.51 a year.
Cheapest for TVs and streaming devices: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 592 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 592 kWh a year across 1115 sampled homes that run one, near the national 632 kWh. The middle half spans 245 kWh to 766 kWh, so TVs and streaming devices varies by 521 kWh between one household and another.
Televisions plus the set-top boxes, streaming sticks, game consoles and sound bars attached to them, in use and on standby. That average covers homes with a television — 96% of homes here.
That makes TVs and streaming devices about 9% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 5,890 kWh is what TVs and streaming devices 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), $91.32; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $130.14; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $144.27; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $195.54; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $225.51.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $134.19 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 592 kWh.
Light and heavy use of TVs and streaming devices
A household in the lighter quarter runs TVs and streaming devices for 245 kWh a year and pays $37.80 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 766 kWh and pays $118.20 — $80.40 more for TVs and streaming devices 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.