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Understanding Electric Utility Charges
Some of the more important but less understood information on your utility bill is found on the page listing the breakdown of your electricity usage charges, including the price of the various kilowatt-hours of electricity used during the previous month. In this section, "Baseline Quantity" is a fundamental concept that must be understood.
This section is particularly important for residents of San Joaquin County, as the pubic utility has a tiered system for pricing electricity. Each region has a set baseline for energy use, and as you go over this amount the price per Kwh (common unit of energy consumption) rises. Thus, residents with larger homes requiring greater air conditioning use can pay large amounts of money for small amounts of electricity.
The Baseline Quantity is set at a per day rate depending on the season, climate zone, and heat source of your home. For a home with gas heat, this amount is currently 15.8 kWh per day in the summer and 12.8 kWh per day in the winter. If you have an all-electric household, then you are currently allowed 19.5 kWh per day in the summer and 31.2 kWh per day in the winter. You then multiply this amount times the number of days in the month to obtain your Baseline Quantity. If you go over this amount, then you will begin to pay progressively more expensive rates for your electricity usage.
The current rates are:
Tier 1: $0.12589 (up to 100% baseline)
Tier 2: $0.14321 (101-130%)
Tier 3: $0.17953 (131-200%)
Tier 4: $0.21067 (201-300%)
Tier 5: $0.21067 (over 300%)
As an example, here is a typical bill from a new home with gas heat in San Joaquin County. If you do not have gas, then the baseline quantity will be much larger, and your charges will be lower.
Monthly Usage: 1100 Kwh
Baseline Quantity: 489.8 Kwh
Monthly Electric Charges :
| Tier | Usage (Kwh) | Rate ($/Kwh) | Cost |
| Baseline Usage | 489.80 | 0.12589 | $61.66 |
| 101-130% of Baseline | 146.94 | 0.14321 | $21.04 |
| 131-200% of Baseline | 342.86 | 0.17953 | $61.55 |
| 201-300% of Baseline | 120.40 | 0.21067 | $25.36 |
| Totals | 1100.00 | | $169.62 |
There are several ways to look at this example. One is that if you cut usage by 11% (reduce usage by 120.4 Kwh) your energy costs will be reduced by 15% (saving $25.36). Another is that the first half of your usage (550 Kwh) cost $70.28 and the second half cost $99.33, about 41% more than the first half. Additional usage in the 201% and above tiers would lead to additional costs increases.
For PG&E customers, detailed information can also be found on PG&E's website:
http://www.pge.com/res/understanding_bill/standard/page1.html
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