Electric Companies in California: Utilities and Their Rates

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data). Homes in CA counts only the customers in this state. Price and bill cover the utility's whole territory and bundled customers only. Delivery only means the utility carries power but does not sell it.

Each type is run differently. An investor-owned company answers to shareholders and a state commission. A municipal utility answers to a city. A cooperative answers to its members. That is why the same state can have very different prices and service from one address to the next.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data). Customer-weighted average of the prices utilities report for bundled residential service. It leaves out delivery-only customers and retail providers.

Outside the investor-owned companies, the largest municipal utility is Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (1,415,602 homes), and the largest electric cooperative is Surprise Valley Electrification (2,788 homes), and the largest public power district is Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) (601,275 homes).

Price differences between types come from costs, customer density and the way each type is financed, so a lower average does not decide which is better for your home.

These California utilities are among the 600 largest in the country, and each has a profile with its service area, reliability and rate options.

• ProfilePG&E5.06 million homes. Investor-owned.Open
• ProfileSouthern California Edison4.63 million homes. Investor-owned.Open
• ProfileLos Angeles Department of Water and Power1.42 million homes. Municipal.Open
• ProfileSan Diego Gas and Electric1.38 million homes. Investor-owned.Open
• ProfileSMUD601 thousand homes. Public power district.Open
• ProfileImperial Irrigation District143 thousand homes. Public power district.Open
• ProfileCity of Anaheim107 thousand homes. Municipal.Open
• ProfileModesto Irrigation District105 thousand homes. Public power district.Open
• ProfileCity of Riverside101 thousand homes. Municipal.Open

The statewide average residential price is 31.35 cents per kWh and the average bill is $154.73 a month. See the full breakdown, rankings and neighbors on the California electricity rates page. Among utilities with at least 10,000 bundled residential customers, average prices ran from 14.42 cents at PacifiCorp to 45.77 cents at San Diego Gas and Electric.

Residential direct access to a competitive supplier is capped and closed to most households. Many cities and counties run community choice aggregation programs instead, which change who buys the power while the local utility still delivers it. Regulation and complaints go through the California Public Utilities Commission.