San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is rolling out one of the most significant residential rate changes in recent memory. Beginning May 1, 2026, weekday super off-peak hours will expand to include 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. year-round, a window that had previously been classified as super off-peak only during March and April. For solar customers, battery storage owners, and any household on a Time-of-Use (TOU) plan, this change has real financial consequences — and not all of them are obvious.
This guide breaks down exactly what is changing, how the new schedule rewrites the math for solar export credits, why battery storage just became dramatically more valuable in San Diego, and which SDG&E rate plan now makes the most sense for your household. Every rate figure cited below is sourced directly from the current SDG&E and San Diego Community Power generation schedules effective in 2025-2026.
What Is Changing With SDG&E Super Off-Peak Hours
SDG&E announced the expanded super off-peak window in late April 2026, with the new schedule taking effect May 1, 2026. The change applies to every residential and commercial Time-of-Use pricing plan that includes a super off-peak tier. According to SDG&E’s official announcement, the goal is to encourage customers to shift consumption into hours when the California grid is awash in low-cost solar generation.
Dana Golan, SDG&E Chief Customer Officer, on the change: “Expanding super off-peak hours year-round gives people more options to save in ways that work for their households.”
SDG&E’s announcement framed the change around customer savings, noting in its press release that “more clean energy [is] available during daytime hours” and that the shift gives customers more flexibility to use lower-priced electricity during midday. The reclassification aligns retail rates with broader California grid dynamics, where midday solar generation has produced periods of low and even negative wholesale prices on the CAISO grid.
Who Is Affected
- Residential TOU Plans: TOU-DR1, TOU-DR2, TOU-ELEC, EV-TOU, EV-TOU-2, and EV-TOU-5
- Solar-Specific Plans: DR-SES (closed to new customers but still active for legacy NEM 2.0 households)
- Solar Billing Plan (NEM 3.0) Customers: All NEM 3.0 households on a TOU plan
- San Diego Community Power Customers: Generation charges follow the same TOU schedule
- Commercial TOU Plans: Most A-TOU schedules with a super off-peak component
Who Is Not Affected
- Standard DR Customers: The flat-rate Standard Domestic plan has no time-based pricing, so the schedule change does not change billing
- Tiered (Non-TOU) Plans: A small number of legacy tiered plans remain unaffected
Before vs. After: The New Super Off-Peak Schedule
The clearest way to understand the change is to compare the weekday schedule that was in effect through April 2026 with the new schedule that begins May 1, 2026. The single substantive change is that the weekday 10 a.m.–2 p.m. block has been promoted from off-peak (10 months a year) to super off-peak (12 months a year). Everything else stays the same.
Weekday TOU Schedule: Before vs. After May 1, 2026
| Time Period | Before May 1, 2026 | After May 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight – 6 a.m. | Super Off-Peak | Super Off-Peak |
| 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. | Off-Peak | Off-Peak |
| 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Off-Peak (March/April super off-peak) | Super Off-Peak (year-round) |
| 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Off-Peak | Off-Peak |
| 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. | On-Peak | On-Peak |
| 9 p.m. – Midnight | Off-Peak | Off-Peak |
Weekend & Holiday Schedule (Unchanged)
| Time Period | Pricing Tier |
|---|---|
| Midnight – 2 p.m. | Super Off-Peak |
| 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Off-Peak |
| 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. | On-Peak |
| 9 p.m. – Midnight | Off-Peak |
SDG&E Total Electric Rates by Tier and Season
To understand the financial impact, you have to look at the actual rates each tier carries. The figures below are the total electric rates (including delivery, generation, and all surcharges) for SDG&E bundled service customers, taken directly from SDG&E’s published tariff schedules effective April 1, 2026. Customers enrolled in San Diego Community Power pay slightly different generation charges plus a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA), but follow the identical TOU schedule.
Summer Total Electric Rates by Plan (Jun–Oct)
| Rate Plan | On-Peak (4–9 p.m.) | Off-Peak | Super Off-Peak | On-Peak vs. Super Off-Peak Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOU-DR1 | $0.69572 | $0.47505 | $0.38773 | $0.30799 |
| EV-TOU-5 | $0.80292 | $0.50584 | $0.12852 | $0.67440 |
| DR-SES (NEM 2.0 solar) | $0.74909 | $0.45201 | $0.36037 | $0.38872 |
| TOU-ELEC | $0.72569 | $0.39824 | $0.35516 | $0.37053 |
| Standard DR (non-TOU) | $0.42034 within baseline / $0.52926 above baseline (flat all day) | n/a | ||
TOU-DR1 customers receive a $0.10892 per kWh baseline credit on usage up to 130% of baseline allocation, which reduces effective rates uniformly across all TOU periods.
Winter Total Electric Rates by Plan (Nov–May)
| Rate Plan | On-Peak (4–9 p.m.) | Off-Peak | Super Off-Peak | On-Peak vs. Super Off-Peak Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOU-DR1 | $0.62127 | $0.53956 | $0.44880 | $0.17247 |
| EV-TOU-5 | $0.53263 | $0.47610 | $0.12115 | $0.41148 |
| DR-SES (NEM 2.0 solar) | $0.47880 | $0.42227 | $0.35300 | $0.12580 |
| TOU-ELEC | $0.51190 | $0.38653 | $0.34735 | $0.16455 |
| Standard DR (non-TOU) | $0.42034 within baseline / $0.52926 above baseline (flat all day) | n/a | ||
The most striking pattern is that EV-TOU-5 collapses both generation and delivery charges during super off-peak, producing a summer spread of more than 67 cents per kilowatt-hour — nearly double the spread of any other plan. That structural difference, baked into SDG&E’s tariff design to incentivize off-peak EV charging, is the single most important factor for any household evaluating battery storage economics.
How the New Schedule Affects Solar Customers
For households with rooftop solar, the May 2026 change cuts in two directions at once. To make the right decision about your time-of-use rate plan, you have to understand both sides.
The Bad News: Lower Export Credits During Peak Solar Hours
Rooftop solar production typically peaks around solar noon (around 12:30–1:00 p.m. in San Diego), with most production concentrated between roughly 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The 10 a.m.–2 p.m. window now reclassified as super off-peak captures the bulk of that production. Under both Net Energy Metering (NEM) and the newer Solar Billing Plan (NEM 3.0), exported solar is credited at the rate that applies during the hour the export occurred.
Before May 1, 2026, weekday exports between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. were credited at off-peak rates for 10 months of the year. Beginning May 1, those same exports are credited at super off-peak rates for all 12 months. The reduction in retail rate value during that window is sizable.
Solar Export Credit Value During 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Summer Months
| Rate Plan | Old Credit (Off-Peak) | New Credit (Super Off-Peak) | Per-kWh Loss | % Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR-SES (NEM 2.0) | $0.45201 | $0.36037 | $0.09164 | 20.3% |
| TOU-DR1 | $0.47505 | $0.38773 | $0.08732 | 18.4% |
| EV-TOU-5 | $0.50584 | $0.12852 | $0.37732 | 74.6% |
| TOU-ELEC | $0.39824 | $0.35516 | $0.04308 | 10.8% |
EV-TOU-5 shows by far the largest reduction because both generation and delivery charges drop during super off-peak on that schedule. For NEM 2.0 customers on DR-SES (the most common solar plan for legacy customers), the actual reduction is closer to 20%. Note that NEM 2.0 export credits are based on retail TOU rates minus non-bypassable charges of approximately $0.02–$0.03 per kWh; the per-kWh loss figures above represent the change in the underlying retail rate.
For an average San Diego rooftop system producing roughly 18–22 kWh during the 10 a.m.–2 p.m. window on a clear summer day, with about 60–75% of that exported because daytime household load is low, the reduction in daily export value on DR-SES works out to about $0.99–$1.51 per day, or roughly $22–$33 per month during peak production months (assuming 22 weekdays). Over a five-month summer, that is approximately $110–$165 in lost export revenue per year for a typical NEM 2.0 household. If your solar bill has been creeping up, this is one more reason it is happening.
The Good News: Cheaper Self-Consumption Window
The flip side is that any electricity you actually use from the grid between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. is now billed at super off-peak rates year-round. For solar households, this matters more than it sounds, because partly-cloudy days, system shading, and afternoon air conditioning loads regularly push residential consumption above on-site solar production even during midday hours. The hours when your panels under-produce are now also the hours when grid power is cheapest.
The Real Lesson: Self-Consume, Don’t Export
The single biggest takeaway for solar customers is that the value of using stored solar to offset on-peak consumption now dramatically exceeds the value of exporting that same energy at midday. On TOU-DR1, every kilowatt-hour you can shift from on-peak to super off-peak through battery storage saves the difference between $0.69572 and $0.38773 — about $0.31 per kWh in total bill savings. On EV-TOU-5, the same kilowatt-hour shift is worth about $0.67 in total bill savings, because both delivery and generation charges drop during super off-peak.
Battery Storage Just Became Significantly More Valuable
The expanded super off-peak window is unambiguously positive for any household considering or already operating solar battery storage. The math is straightforward: the wider the rate spread between super off-peak and on-peak, the more dollars per kilowatt-hour a battery captures with each charge-discharge cycle.
Summer Battery Arbitrage Value by Plan (13.5 kWh Battery, Full Daily Cycle)
| Rate Plan | Total Spread Per kWh | Per Cycle Value (13.5 kWh) | Annual Value (350 cycles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EV-TOU-5 | $0.67440 | $9.10 | ~$3,187 |
| DR-SES (NEM 2.0 only) | $0.38872 | $5.25 | ~$1,837 |
| TOU-ELEC | $0.37053 | $5.00 | ~$1,751 |
| TOU-DR1 | $0.30799 | $4.16 | ~$1,455 |
Critically, the schedule change creates a second daily charging window. Solar households can now treat 10 a.m.–2 p.m. as both a free solar charging window and a cheap grid backup window. That redundancy means batteries reach full charge more reliably, even on cloudy days, and customers can run the on-peak block (4 p.m.–9 p.m.) almost entirely on stored energy. Lithium home storage systems are designed for exactly this use case.
The takeaway: rate plan selection now matters as much as battery sizing. A 13.5 kWh battery on EV-TOU-5 captures more than twice the annual arbitrage value of the same battery on TOU-DR1.
How Different Battery Systems Capture the New Spread (Summer, EV-TOU-5)
| Battery System | Usable Capacity | Per-Cycle Total Savings | Annual Total Savings (350 cycles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enphase IQ Battery 5P | 5.0 kWh | ~$3.37 | ~$1,180 |
| Two Enphase IQ Battery 5P | 10.0 kWh | ~$6.74 | ~$2,360 |
| Tesla Powerwall 3 | 13.5 kWh | ~$9.10 | ~$3,187 |
| Sol-Ark with 20 kWh Battery Bank | 20.0 kWh | ~$13.49 | ~$4,721 |
These figures use the EV-TOU-5 summer total spread of $0.67440 per kWh and assume one full daily cycle. Households on other rate plans capture proportionally less — for example, the same Tesla Powerwall 3 cycling daily on TOU-DR1 captures roughly $1,455 per year instead of $3,187. Battery capacity values reflect each system’s nameplate usable energy as published by the manufacturer.
Which SDG&E Rate Plan Is Best Under the New Schedule
The plan that minimizes your bill in the new environment depends almost entirely on what equipment you have and when you actually use electricity. Here is how the major plans stack up after May 1, 2026.
EV-TOU-5: Best for Battery Storage and EV Households
EV-TOU-5 is the runaway winner for any household with both an EV and a battery, because it is the only major SDG&E residential plan with time-varying delivery charges. Summer super off-peak total runs $0.12852 per kWh while on-peak hits $0.80292 — a $0.67 spread that no other plan comes close to. The plan requires a registered EV at the premises but is also the standard plan for new NEM 3.0 Solar Billing Plan customers with EVs.
TOU-ELEC: Best for Battery + Heat Pump Households Without EV
TOU-ELEC is engineered for fully electrified homes and qualifies any household with a registered EV, behind-the-meter energy storage interconnected through Electric Rule 21, or an electric heat pump. Its summer total spread of $0.37053 per kWh is the second-best for battery arbitrage and is the most accessible plan for solar-plus-storage households that do not own an EV.
TOU-DR1: SDG&E’s Standard Residential TOU Plan
TOU-DR1 is SDG&E’s default TOU plan for households without specialized equipment. Its summer total spread of $0.30799 per kWh is the smallest of the major TOU plans, and unlike EV-TOU-5 the delivery component is flat across all TOU periods. Customers receive a $0.10892 baseline credit on usage up to 130% of baseline allocation. Choose TOU-DR1 if you do not qualify for TOU-ELEC and want a TOU plan with no equipment requirements.
TOU-DR2: Two-Period Plan, No Super Off-Peak Tier
The two-period TOU-DR2 plan eliminates the super off-peak tier entirely. After May 2026 this plan loses some of its appeal because customers without batteries can no longer access the deeply discounted midday rate that the three-period plans now offer year-round. Choose TOU-DR2 only if your usage is genuinely flat across the day.
DR-SES: Legacy Solar Plan, Closed to New Customers
DR-SES remains available only to NEM 2.0 customers who interconnected before April 14, 2023. The plan’s summer on-peak total of $0.74909 per kWh is slightly lower than TOU-DR1’s, and its super off-peak total of $0.36037 makes it a balanced plan for households still operating under retail-rate net metering. For most NEM 2.0 customers, DR-SES remains the best legacy plan, although the May 2026 change does erode some export credit value.
Standard DR: The Default Non-TOU Plan
The flat-rate Standard DR plan does not change with the new schedule. The total electric rate runs $0.42034 per kWh within baseline allocation and $0.52926 per kWh above baseline, regardless of time of day. It is rarely the best choice for solar households, but it remains an option for customers who cannot or will not shift load.
SDG&E Rate Plan Recommendation Matrix (After May 1, 2026)
| Household Type | Best Plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No solar, no battery, flexible schedule | TOU-DR1 | Standard residential TOU plan; benefits from new midday super off-peak window |
| No solar, no battery, fixed schedule | Standard DR | Flat rate avoids on-peak exposure if you cannot shift load |
| Solar only (NEM 2.0) | DR-SES | Legacy plan with favorable structure for existing solar exporters |
| Solar only (NEM 3.0) | EV-TOU-5 or TOU-ELEC | EV-TOU-5 if you have an EV; TOU-ELEC if you have any qualifying technology |
| Solar + battery (no EV) | TOU-ELEC | Battery interconnection qualifies you; second-largest spread without EV requirement |
| Solar + battery + EV | EV-TOU-5 | Time-varying delivery charges produce $0.67 summer spread — nearly double any other plan |
| All-electric (battery + EV + heat pump) | EV-TOU-5 | Largest total spread; qualifying tech and EV both available |
NEM 2.0 vs. NEM 3.0: The Change Hits Differently
How exactly the new schedule affects your solar value depends on which net metering tariff you are under. The two regimes treat exports very differently.
NEM 2.0 Customers (Interconnected Before April 14, 2023)
Under NEM 2.0, exports are credited at the full retail TOU rate (less non-bypassable charges of approximately $0.02–$0.03 per kWh) that applies the moment the export occurs. The May 2026 change reclassifies the 10 a.m.–2 p.m. block from off-peak to super off-peak, which directly reduces export credit value. NEM 2.0 customers on DR-SES will see total retail rates during 10 a.m.–2 p.m. drop from $0.45201/kWh to $0.36037/kWh, a reduction of $0.09164 per kWh exported (about 20%). NEM 2.0 protections preserve the 20-year retail-rate compensation guarantee, but the retail TOU rate in that window is now lower.
NEM 3.0 Customers (Solar Billing Plan, Interconnected April 14, 2023 or Later)
NEM 3.0 export rates are set by the CPUC Avoided Cost Calculator, which already places very low values on midday solar exports during high-production months. For most NEM 3.0 customers, midday weekday exports between April and October were already worth only $0.02–$0.05/kWh. The May 2026 retail rate change does not directly alter the NEM 3.0 export rate, but it does change the value of self-consuming versus exporting that solar — and self-consumption almost always wins under NEM 3.0. Our complete NEM 3.0 guide walks through the implications for new solar buyers.
The bottom line: NEM 3.0 customers were already incentivized to add storage. The May 2026 schedule expansion strengthens that incentive further, because the on-peak window where stored energy is most valuable is unchanged at 4 p.m.–9 p.m.
Sample Monthly Savings Scenarios
To make the impact concrete, here are estimated monthly impacts for several common San Diego household profiles using SDG&E bundled total electric rates effective April 1, 2026.
Estimated Summer Monthly Bill Impact by Household Type
| Household Profile | Rate Plan | Estimated Monthly Bill Impact | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| No solar, no battery, shifts 100 kWh midday | TOU-DR1 | ~$8.73 savings ($0.08732 × 100 kWh) | Modest but free if you can shift loads |
| Solar only (NEM 2.0), no battery, 60 kWh midday exports/mo | DR-SES | ~$5.50 reduction in monthly export credit | Net negative; consider adding storage |
| Solar + 13.5 kWh battery (NEM 3.0) with EV | EV-TOU-5 | ~$273/mo ($9.10 × 30 cycles) in arbitrage value, summer | Battery payback materially shortens vs. flat rate plans |
| Solar + 13.5 kWh battery (NEM 3.0), no EV | TOU-ELEC | ~$150/mo ($5.00 × 30 cycles) in arbitrage value, summer | Substantial savings; pick TOU-ELEC if no EV |
Detailed Scenario Breakdown
Scenario 1 — No solar, TOU-DR1: 700 kWh per month summer usage, ability to shift 100 kWh from off-peak to super off-peak. The total per-kWh saving from shifting equals $0.47505 – $0.38773 = $0.08732. Shifting 100 kWh saves approximately $8.73 per month before baseline credit adjustments.
Scenario 2 — Solar-only NEM 2.0, DR-SES, no battery: 6 kW solar system, 60 kWh of midday weekday exports per month at peak season. Old retail rate value during 10 a.m.–2 p.m.: 60 × $0.45201 = $27.12/mo. New value: 60 × $0.36037 = $21.62/mo. Net reduction in export credit: approximately $5.50/mo (before non-bypassable charges, which apply equally to both periods).
Scenario 3 — Solar + battery + EV (NEM 3.0), EV-TOU-5: 8 kW solar + 13.5 kWh battery, full daily cycle. Per-cycle total bill saving: 13.5 kWh × $0.67440 spread = $9.10. Annual at 350 cycles: approximately $3,187. The schedule change does not alter per-cycle math but adds a second daily charging window that improves cycle reliability during cloudy stretches and during periods when overnight charging cannot fully refill the battery.
Scenario 4 — Solar + battery, no EV, TOU-ELEC: 8 kW solar + 13.5 kWh battery, full daily cycle. Per-cycle total bill saving: 13.5 kWh × $0.37053 spread = $5.00. Annual at 350 cycles: approximately $1,751. Switching this household from TOU-DR1 to TOU-ELEC adds roughly $300 per year to the battery’s captured value.
Practical Strategies to Maximize Savings After May 1, 2026
Whether or not you have solar, the new schedule rewards specific behavioral and equipment choices. The following are the highest-leverage moves available to most San Diego households.
For Households Without Solar
- Run major appliances midday: Dishwashers, laundry, pool pumps, and pre-cooling air conditioning during 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on weekdays
- Set EV charging to start at 10 a.m. or midnight: Both windows are now super off-peak
- Pre-cool the house before 4 p.m.: Drop the thermostat to 70–72 degrees from noon to 4 p.m., then let it drift up during on-peak hours
- Consider TOU-DR1 over TOU-DR2: The three-period plan now meaningfully outperforms the two-period plan for most households
For Solar Households Without Batteries
- Maximize daytime self-consumption: Run pool pumps, EV charging, and HVAC pre-cooling during 10 a.m.–2 p.m. to avoid grid sales at low super off-peak rates
- Strongly consider adding battery storage: The May 2026 change typically shortens battery payback periods by roughly 6–12 months for most households, depending on usage patterns and rate plan
- Re-evaluate your rate plan: If you are on DR-SES and most of your export occurs midday, run the math on EV-TOU-5 if you have an EV
For Solar + Battery Households
- Configure batteries for time-of-use arbitrage: Charge from solar (and grid backup) during super off-peak; discharge entirely during 4 p.m.–9 p.m. on-peak
- Use the second daily charge window: The new midday super off-peak block lets your battery refill on cloudy days at low cost
- Consider a second battery if your single unit cannot cover 4–9 p.m. consumption: The five-hour on-peak window is the entire savings opportunity
- Right-size new solar-plus-storage systems: Aim for enough capacity to fully cover on-peak usage from stored energy
San Diego Community Power Customers
If you are enrolled in San Diego Community Power (SDCP), the same TOU schedule applies, but your bill structure is slightly different. SDCP bills generation directly (with their PowerOn product running approximately $0.24278 per kWh on Standard DR in summer, plus tiered TOU rates on the same schedule as SDG&E). SDG&E continues to bill delivery and transmission charges on the same statement. SDCP customers also pay a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) of $0.04987 per kWh for 2026-vintage generation. The May 2026 schedule expansion applies identically to SDCP customers, and the relative analysis above (battery arbitrage, export credit reduction, plan selection) holds regardless of which generation provider you use.
What to Do Right Now
- Check your current rate plan: Log into My Energy Center to see which TOU plan you are on and how your usage breaks down across tiers
- Run the rate plan comparison: SDG&E’s tool will simulate your bill on every available plan using your last 12 months of usage
- Audit your appliance schedules: Move every flexible load (laundry, dishwasher, EV, pool pump) to either the midnight–6 a.m. or 10 a.m.–2 p.m. windows
- Get a battery storage quote: The arbitrage math now favors batteries by a wider margin than ever before in San Diego
- If you are still considering solar: Review our San Diego solar panel cost guide and California solar incentives guide before locking in a plan