Electricity Rate Increase Announced for All Southern California Edison Territory Customers

Santa Barbara residents and businesses will see an electricity rate increase on their April bills in response to energy market changes, Southern California Edison’s energy storage measures to support grid reliability, and wildfire risk reduction. An estimated increase for the average residential customer is about $5 per month, and the average business customer increase is about $10 per month based on 850kwh usage.

“As Santa Barbara’s energy partner, we are sharing this news proactively as it affects both Santa Barbara Clean Energy and Edison customers. The energy market is affected by many factors, but it appears the drought and a natural gas pipeline explosion last fall are the key drivers of the higher costs of energy procurement that we are all seeing,” shares Acting Sustainability and Resilience Director Alelia Parenteau. “Added to these factors are Edison’s increased costs to improve the energy grid so that we all have more reliable service during extreme weather events and have better infrastructure in place to reduce wildfire risk.”

Santa Barbara Clean Energy provides customers with green energy that is delivered to local area homes and businesses by Edison. This is shown on every electricity bill under generation and delivery rates. Santa Barbara Clean Energy generation replaces prior Edison generation charges. Customers will see higher rates on both the generation and delivery charges tied to these factors.

“One of our goals in launching Santa Barbara Clean Energy is to provide cleaner electricity that supports Santa Barbara with reserves to offset these energy market spikes in the future. Since we just launched residential service in October and commercial service in March, our program rates are positioned with Edison’s to provide a stable transition for customers. Over the next few years, our hope is to build up reserves and invest in generation programs locally that can help customers when energy markets fluctuate,” added Parenteau.

Santa Barbara Clean Energy’s mission is to offer customers green energy options with continued reliable electric service to achieve our community’s ambitious climate goals. This is particularly important because local electricity use accounts for approximately 20% of Santa Barbara’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the commercial launch in March, the vast majority of Santa Barbara’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity are eliminated.

Santa Barbara Clean Energy offers incentives and programs to its customers that can help reduce costs through energy savings and leverage Santa Barbara Clean Energy’s carbon-free electricity in ways that will help achieve the city’s carbon neutrality goals. Benefits include rebates on electric vehicles, reduced-cost electric bike memberships, trying out induction cookware, and discounts on locally made battery back-up systems.

For more information about Santa Barbara Clean Energy, the rate increase, various clean energy choices, programs and incentives, frequently asked questions and more, please visit www.SBCleanEnergy.com or call (805) 897-1979.