Rate Watch 2026: Financial security is so important right now, amidst inflation and price increases across the board. In 2024, the utility made energy prices a part of that concern when they raised the cost of power 4 separate times. Consumer advocacy groups sounded the alarm bells and pushed back against these increases, which had far outstripped the inflation of the time, and yet the utility did not relent, pushing the average energy bill up by more than a hundred dollars a month.

2025 has seen these prices hold steady at this plateau, and we’ve been eagerly awaiting any news that there were plans to provide relief to beleaguered California ratepayers. As we look to 2026 and beyond, we’ll be maintaining a rate watch to ensure that no adjustments to your energy bills go unnoticed. To that end, we must discuss the first of many changes that are bound to come - the utility is planning to raise rates again in 2026.

Rate Watch: 2025

Coming into 2025, the average ratepayer was saddled with four separate rate increases from the previous year, amounting to a significant increase in both their gas and electric bill. As we said, consumer advocacy groups were pushing hard for the utility to relent in this unceasing march of price hikes, arguing that these increases far outstripped the cost of inflation, and were putting California ratepayers at risk. With heavily inflated and unpredictable energy bills to contend with, many were put in a difficult financial position, which did not abate in the new year. The one glimmer of hope that utility customers saw throughout this year came in the form of a whispered plan - a potential rate reduction.

In this article on their site, the utility claimed that rates had actually fallen in 2025 - by about 12 dollars, and that the big change was forecast for the next year: Electric Bills Expected to Drop Again in 2026. Now, after a year of constant increases and a year of energy prices holding at their all time high, many were skeptical that the utility would voluntarily decrease the cost of power in California. Ratepayers had already been fighting to keep their heads above water for a year, so why give them any relief after so much time had passed? Still, it was a glimmer of hope for those who were working tirelessly to make ends meet in the face of such high energy prices, and so we watched the space, ready to receive the news that a proposed rate decrease was planned for 2026.

Rate Watch: 2026

As it turns out, California ratepayers didn’t have to wait long to find out about the utility’s plans for 2026. We conceived of the idea for rate watch after hearing this news, that the utility was floating the idea of decreasing energy costs in the new year, because we wanted to provide transparency into this hugely impactful situation. As much as we struggle with the utility, a rate decrease would be a meaningful policy win for everyone with a power bill. The day after the utility published their article about rate decreases, they announced a plan to increase rates by hundreds of dollars over the next few years, starting with some small increases and scaling up over time. This prompted public outcry and a number of public hearings on the matter.

Rate Watch: The Next 4 Years

So, here’s what you can expect from your energy bill going into 2026 and beyond, as explained by this article from KCRA:

• A 5 dollar a month increase starting in 2026
• An annual increase of $144 by 2027
• An annual increase of $408 by 2030

So, as you can see, our rate watch project won’t likely be a short-lived one, as we’re anticipating cost increases for the next four years. The utility post and the KCRA article came out one day apart, meaning the utility was well aware it was planning to propose rate increases when it published the post forecasting rate decreases. In the end, as a utility ratepayer your energy bill is a revenue source for them, and rate reductions are bad business. The solution to this issue simply can’t come from the organization which benefits from increased costs.

The Future of Energy Rates

The solution to this rate issue is to reduce your reliance on utility provided energy. By opting out of making them your primary provider, you reduce their power to directly control and impact your finances. A home solar installation puts the power of energy production in your hands, and enables you to benefit from the utility when it suits you, and to preserve your access to clean, renewable energy when you want it. The more energy you produce and utilize, the less those rate increases can impact your bill. Be sure to return to this page to keep up with our rate watch project, and schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how solar can combat these ever increasing energy rates.