Back in 2019, SDG&E began defaulting customers onto its “Time-of-Use” rates. These rates were the result of changing grid conditions due to the increase of rooftop and utility-scale solar generation. Changing grid conditions included abundant solar energy during the day that disappeared at sunset. As people came home in the evenings and needed power, grid operators had to quickly “ramp-up” with other sources to meet this need. This period became known as the “on-peak” period, generally between 4-9 pm. To shift energy usage to cheaper periods, SDG&E offered an “off-peak” period during the day, and a “super off-peak” period from midnight to 6 am on weekdays, and midnight to 2 pm on the weekends. The “super off-peak” period was also offered from 10 am to 2 pm weekdays during the months of March and April only, to coincide with abundant springtime sunshine. Starting May 1, 2026, SDG&E expanded its 10 am to 2 pm weekday “super off-peak” period year-round to align with an excess amount of solar produced in the middle of the day (the weekend midnight to 2 pm “super off-peak” period remains the same). With this low-price signal, SDG&E hopes to encourage customers to shift as much energy usage to this mid-day period as possible. This will help absorb excess solar generation, reduce curtailment (the practice of shutting down solar generation because there is too much of it and not enough demand to use it) and use energy during the cheapest and cleanest hours of the day. UCAN supported this new year-round “super off-peak” period believing it is one more tool that can help ratepayers reduce their monthly electricity bills.
