Why Your SCE Rate Plan Matters for Solar Savings
If you're a Southern California Edison customer with solar panels, your time-of-use (TOU) rate plan can mean the difference between saving $1,500 or $2,500 per year. SCE offers several TOU plans, each with different peak hours, rates, and billing structures — and the right choice depends on your solar system size, battery storage, and energy habits.
At Anca Solar, we help homeowners across Orange County, Ventura County, and parts of Los Angeles County optimize their rate plans after going solar. Here's how to choose the best one in 2026.
How Time-of-Use Rates Work
Unlike flat-rate electricity pricing, TOU plans charge different prices depending on when you use electricity:
Peak hours: Most expensive — typically late afternoon and evening when demand is highest
Off-peak hours: Moderate pricing — most daytime and nighttime hours
Super off-peak: Cheapest — typically overnight and weekend midday hours
This matters for solar because your panels produce the most electricity during midday (off-peak or super off-peak hours), but your home uses the most electricity during evening peak hours. The price gap between when you produce and when you consume determines how much a battery is worth.
SCE TOU Plans Available to Solar Customers in 2026
TOU-D-PRIME (Most Popular for Solar+Battery)
Peak: 4–9 PM weekdays (~$0.55/kWh)
Off-peak: All other hours (~$0.30/kWh)
Super off-peak: 8 AM–4 PM (March–April) (~$0.17/kWh)
Best for: Solar customers with battery storage. TOU-D-PRIME has the widest spread between peak and off-peak rates, maximizing the value of shifting stored solar energy to expensive evening hours. If you have a Tesla Powerwall or Enphase IQ Battery, this is almost always the best plan.
Monthly charge: ~$14/month fixed charge
TOU-D-4 (Default for NEM 3.0 Solar)
Peak: 4–9 PM weekdays (~$0.50/kWh)
Off-peak: All other hours (~$0.33/kWh)
Super off-peak: 8 AM–4 PM (March–April) (~$0.20/kWh)
Best for: Solar-only customers (no battery) who were placed on NEM 3.0. The rate spread is slightly narrower than TOU-D-PRIME, which means less penalty for evening consumption. If you don't have a battery to shift energy, TOU-D-4's more moderate pricing can result in lower bills.
Monthly charge: ~$12/month fixed charge
TOU-D-5 (Weekday/Weekend Split)
Peak: 5–8 PM weekdays (~$0.58/kWh)
Off-peak (weekday): All other weekday hours (~$0.32/kWh)
Off-peak (weekend): All weekend hours (~$0.32/kWh)
Super off-peak: Limited hours (~$0.19/kWh)
Best for: Homeowners who are away during weekdays and use most electricity on weekends. The shorter peak window (3 hours vs 5 hours) means fewer expensive hours to cover, but the peak rate is higher.
Monthly charge: ~$12/month fixed charge
How to Choose the Right TOU Plan
If You Have Solar + Battery
Go with TOU-D-PRIME. The strategy is simple:
Your solar panels charge your battery during the day (off-peak/super off-peak rates)
Your battery powers your home during 4–9 PM peak hours
You avoid paying $0.55/kWh peak rates entirely
Any excess solar exports earn net billing credits during daytime
With a properly sized battery, many homeowners in Irvine, Thousand Oaks, and Santa Clarita see monthly bills under $20 on TOU-D-PRIME.
If You Have Solar Only (No Battery)
TOU-D-4 is usually the best choice. Without a battery, you'll inevitably consume grid power during peak hours (4–9 PM). TOU-D-4's slightly lower peak rate reduces that cost compared to TOU-D-PRIME.
However, if your household can genuinely shift most evening consumption — running the dishwasher, laundry, and EV charging before 4 PM or after 9 PM — TOU-D-PRIME's lower off-peak rate could save more overall.
If You Work From Home
Working from home typically increases daytime consumption, which aligns well with solar production. TOU-D-4 or TOU-D-PRIME both work well since you're using solar directly during production hours. The key factor becomes your evening consumption pattern.
NEM 3.0 and TOU Plans: What Changes
Under NEM 3.0 (Net Billing Tariff), the value of your solar exports depends on the Avoided Cost Rate, not your retail TOU rate. This is a critical distinction:
What you pay for grid power: Your TOU rate ($0.30–$0.55/kWh)
What you earn for solar exports: Avoided Cost Rate ($0.04–$0.08/kWh)
The massive gap between these two numbers means self-consumption is 5–10x more valuable than exporting. This is exactly why batteries are so important under NEM 3.0 — and why choosing the right TOU plan to maximize the value of stored energy matters.
Optimizing Your TOU Strategy
Program Your Battery for TOU Arbitrage
Both Tesla and Enphase apps let you set battery schedules aligned to your TOU plan. The optimal strategy:
Morning (6 AM–12 PM): Solar powers your home + charges battery
Midday (12–4 PM): Battery fully charged; excess solar exports at avoided cost rate
Peak (4–9 PM): Battery powers your home, avoiding $0.50–$0.55/kWh rates
Evening (9 PM–12 AM): Grid power at off-peak rate ($0.30/kWh)
Shift Discretionary Loads
Regardless of your plan, shifting large loads away from peak hours saves money:
EV charging: Schedule for midnight–6 AM (super off-peak when available)
Laundry and dishwasher: Run during solar production hours (10 AM–2 PM)
Pool pump: Program for midday to consume solar directly
HVAC pre-cooling: Cool your home to 72°F by 3:30 PM, then let it drift during peak
Monitor and Adjust
After 2–3 months on a TOU plan, review your bills. SCE's online portal shows your hourly consumption and how much you're paying during each TOU period. If you see high peak consumption you can't shift, consider switching plans or adding battery storage.
How to Switch Your SCE Rate Plan
You can change your TOU plan through:
SCE online account: Log in at sce.com > My Account > Rate Plan
Phone: Call SCE at 1-800-655-4555
Wait period: You must stay on a plan for 12 months before switching again (with some exceptions for newly installed solar)
SCE also offers a Rate Plan Comparison Tool that analyzes your historical usage and estimates costs under each plan. Run this analysis before switching.
Real-World Savings Comparison
For a typical 3-bedroom home in Huntington Beach with 8 kW solar and a 13.5 kWh battery:
TOU-D-PRIME: ~$18/month average electric bill
TOU-D-4: ~$32/month average electric bill
TOU-D-5: ~$28/month average electric bill
Annual savings difference between plans: $120–$168/year. Over 25 years, that's $3,000–$4,200 — simply from choosing the right rate plan.
Get Your System Optimized
The right TOU plan depends on your specific system size, battery capacity, consumption patterns, and lifestyle. At Anca Solar, we don't just install panels — we design systems optimized for your utility's rate structure and help you select the right TOU plan for maximum savings.
Our free solar consultations include TOU analysis and battery sizing recommendations for SCE customers across Orange County, Ventura County, and Los Angeles County. CSLB License #873768.
Schedule your free consultation and start saving more with the right rate plan.
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