A home using 600 kWh in San José and a home using 600 kWh in Los Angeles can receive different bills. A fair comparison needs the same billing period and usage profile, the actual utility and generation provider, and every fixed charge and adjustment. A city name or an average price alone is not enough.
Updated October 21, 2026: Earlier city savings totals were removed because they were not reverified as current bills. This guide explains how to make a comparable estimate; it does not declare a current citywide winner.
Identify who serves each address
Check the utility and generation provider printed on each bill. Do not infer them from a ZIP code. In the San José area, verify the PG&E delivery plan and whether a CCA supplies generation. In Los Angeles, check whether the address is served by LADWP or another utility.
RateAtlas’s California tools focus on PG&E, SCE and SDG&E datasets. A result for one of those utilities is not a substitute for an LADWP bill estimate.
Keep the comparison conditions the same
| Input | What to match or record |
|---|---|
| Usage | 600 kWh over the same number of billing days |
| Timing | Interval use, or an explicitly stated allocation among TOU periods |
| Season and date | The tariff applicable during the same comparison period |
| Household conditions | Discount eligibility, baseline area, medical baseline and solar status |
| Price components | Energy, delivery, fixed or minimum charges, adjustments, taxes and credits |
| Generation provider | Bundled utility or CCA plan, including applicable PCIA |
For each bill, sum the modeled charges and subtract applicable credits. Divide that total by 600 kWh only if you want an effective average cost for this particular example. That number is not the tariff’s marginal price for an extra kWh.
Use the right rate documents
PG&E’s TOU plan guide explains its time windows; individual tariffs give the actual rates and conditions. LADWP’s residential rate tables separate base energy charges, adjustment factors and access or minimum charges. A published base energy rate by itself is not LADWP’s total price.
When a billing period crosses a price change, account for the applicable dates rather than applying one month’s price to every day. Also check whether the bill covers one or two months before comparing totals.
What you can change at your own home
A comparison across cities is background information; you generally cannot choose a neighboring city’s distribution utility. Focus on the rate plans and generation options available at your service address. Test how moving flexible usage affects the whole bill, including any new fixed charge.
Use California Rate Finder for a supported IOU estimate and California Compare Plans for modeled alternatives. Have your utility, plan and usage ready, and verify detected location and eligibility before relying on a result. For LADWP, use its official tables or customer account tools.
Source review: October 21, 2026. PG&E’s TOU guide and LADWP’s residential tables were reviewed for the comparison method. No new current city bill totals were calculated for this article.