GUIDE TO RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC SERVICE OPTIONS

A Comparison of Electric Service Providers' Service Plans, Rates and Prices

For California Residential Customers

Prepared by the

Office of Ratepayer Advocates

(Updated as of May 2001)

The State Legislature opened the electric service industry to competition in March 1998. As a result, most Californians can choose an electric service provider (ESP) other than their utility company. Several ESPs are now in the market, presenting consumers with a variety of offers. Evaluating and choosing among different service options presents a challenge to most consumers. Fortunately, the Legislature by Senate Bill 477 required the new ESPs to submit to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) the prices, terms and conditions of their standard service plans. The Legislature also made provisions for the Commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) to analyze the ESPs' offers and prepare guides to help consumers evaluate and choose among them. This is one of those guides. Another of our guides you may find helpful is our Shopper’s Guide, which tells you what you should know and what you should ask prospective ESPs when you are shopping for a new provider.

This guide was prepared by ORA using information provided to the Commission by competitive ESPs. It lists ESPs who offer residential service in each local utility service area, and compares their service plans, rates and estimated monthly bills. We believe the information in the guide was accurate as of mid February 2001, however ESPs are not regulated and their rates and service plans can change at any time. We will update the guide periodically as new information becomes available. This guide is not an endorsement of any ESP nor a guarantee that any ESP listed is currently marketing to residential customers.

USING THIS GUIDE

Listed below are the three major electric utility companies, PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, also known as utility distribution companies (UDCs), whose service territories are open to electric competition.

There is a Glossary of Terms used in the guide and an explanation of the Assumptions used in calculating monthly usage costs.

To get to the comparisons for your area, select the utility currently serving you:

• Pacific Gas and Electric (list of ESPs offering Residential service, with contact information)
• ESP Service Plans, Sources of Electricity and Rates (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Estimated Monthly Bills of Competing ESPs (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Terms and Conditions of Service of ESPs (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Southern California Edison (list of ESPs offering Residential service, with contact information)
• ESP Service Plans, Sources of Electricity and Rates (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Estimated Monthly Bills of Competing ESPs (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Terms and Conditions of Service of ESPs (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• San Diego Gas and Electric (list of ESPs offering Residential service, with contact information)
• ESP Service Plans, Sources of Electricity and Rates (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Estimated Monthly Bills of Competing ESPs (HTML format) (MS Excel)
• Terms and Conditions of Service of ESPs (HTML format) (MS Excel)

Glossary for Guide to Electric Service Providers

---

Assumptions used in calculating estimated monthly bills

Rates per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and estimated monthly bills reflect all costs of electric service. For PG&E and Southern California Edison, the rates and estimated bill amounts include the 10% rate reduction mandated by the Legislature as of January 1, 1998 and currently in effect. For SDG&E, the amounts incorporate the 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour energy rate cap imposed by Assembly Bill 265, effective June 1, 2000 and extending through December 31, 2002.

In calculating the amounts in the accompanying tables of monthly bills, we have made several assumptions:

• The bills are for basic Residential service, i.e., Schedule E-1 for PG&E, Schedule G for Southern California Edison and Schedule DR for SDG&E;

• The Power Exchange (PX) price is the average billed PX rate for each utility territory for the 12 months ended early February 2001:
• PG&E = 15 cents per kWh
• Edison = 13 cents per kWh
• SDG&E = 12 cents per kWh

• The baseline allowance used for each utility's entire service territory is:
• PG&E = 324 kWh/month
• Edison = 273 kWh/month
• SDG&E = 249 kWh/month
  
  
• The billing period is 30 days;
  
  
• The billing periods for ESPs and utilities are identical in time.

The bills of customers who qualify for CARE, the reduced-rate program for customers with a limited income, would be 15 percent below those in the tables. Similarly, bills for customers on All-Electric or residential Time-of-Use schedules would differ from those in the tables shown here.

---

NOTE:

• Actual offers may differ from what appears in this guide. However, in late December 2000 we verified the rates and/or pricing policies upon which the calculations of the rates and estimated monthly bills in these tables are based.
• Your monthly bill may differ from those in the tables depending on your actual electricity usage, actual baseline allowance and number of days in your billing period.
• You will notice that most of the ESPs' prices differ from those of the utilities. In cases where the prices are higher, this is sometimes because those offers are for "green power", which is electricity generated from sources considered to be renewable or environmentally friendly and generally more expensive to produce than that purchased or produced by the utilities. Our tables indicate which service offerings are for green power and registered with the California Energy Commission (CEC). From the tables, you will be able to determine approximately how much more or less per month you might pay if you decide to switch from your utility to another provider.
• If our calculation of monthly bills differs from information an ESP gives to potential customers, it is probably because we have assumed a different PX price or baseline quantity. It may also be because we have used specific underlying UDC rates in all cases, whereas some ESPs have used an average of the rates of all three UDCs in their calculations. What we have tried to do here is provide nearly exact, sample usage costs in a manner that enables you to compare offers on an "apples-to-apples" basis.

---