Did You Get a Discount on This Month’s Electricity Bill? Here's How to Check

Before you start carving pumpkins and putting on your Halloween costume, check this month’s electricity bill: There may be an extra $58.23 waiting for you.

This month, most energy users in the state should have received the California Climate Credit — a sum that shows up in your electricity bill twice a year.

This program is financed by the state’s Cap-and-Trade program, which allows major polluters like power plants and oil refineries to release greenhouse gases as long as they buy allowances equivalent to what they emit.

But how much you actually get from the credit depends on who your electric utility is. PG&E, which covers most of California, gave its customers a $58.23 credit in this month’s utility bill.

Southern California Edison, serving huge swathes of the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, passed on $86 to their ratepayers. And folks in communities near the Oregon border — like Crescent City — qualified for the largest credit amount in the whole state: $174 from Pacific Power.

This credit is only distributed twice a year, in April and October. And this year, state officials estimate that residents will receive a combined total of $1.4 billion on their utility bills. Natural gas customers also received an additional credit back in April.

What you need to know about the credit that will show up on your PG&E bill this month:

How do I know I received the credit?

Look for the electricity bill that you received at the start of October. If you didn’t receive one in your mailbox and you’re a PG&E customer, you can check your account balance online or by calling 1-877-704-8470.

Once you have your bill handy — either in printed or electronic form — check the upper right corner, under a section titled “Your Account Summary.”

There should be a negative amount labeled as “Electric Adjustments.” This will be subtracted from the sum of the other fees in your bill, like the electricity and gas delivery fees, along with city- or county-level dues.

PG&E customers should also see a message directly below their total amount due that reads: “Current charges include a discount of $58.23 for CA Climate Credit.”

And if you’re wondering whether the Climate Credit counts as income for tax purposes, a spokesperson for the California Public Utilities Commission confirmed that it doesn’t. “The Climate Credit is not counted as income, it is part of your utility bill (a bill credit),” they told KQED by email.

What if I didn’t receive this credit?

The California Climate Credit is automatically delivered to all customers of investor-owned utility companies, and you do not need to do anything to receive these funds.

Public utilities — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, for example — are not part of this program and therefore their ratepayers do not qualify for this credit.

If your power is provided by an investor-owned utility, which includes PG&E, you should have received an amount in your favor for this month’s bill. San Diego Gas & Electric customers, however, received the credit in September.

But if this credit did not get to you at all, state officials recommend you first contact your utility directly.

“That is because your utility can directly access your records, tell you whether you’re receiving the credit, and correct any errors directly,” stated the California Public Utilities Commission, which manages the program, on its website.

The customer service lines for the state’s privately owned utilities are:

• PG&E: 1-877-660-6789
• SCE: 1-800-655-4555
• SDG&E: 1-800-411-7343
• Liberty Utilities: 1-800-782-2506
• Pacific Power: 1-888-221-7070

A spokesperson for the CPUC suggested you can also call the CPUC directly (1-800-649-7570) if you don’t see this credit in your monthly bill.

If you are unable to contact your utility’s customer service team — or they have, and they couldn’t help you — and you still have not received your Climate Credit, you can file a complaint directly with the CPUC. Keep in mind that this is an informal complaint and a CPUC caseworker will step in to mediate between you and your utility.

What if I live in an apartment building with a ‘master meter’?

If your landlord or building management company is the one that manages the electricity bills for your apartment, you should still get your share of the credit.

According to state rules, your landlord is obligated to pass on any state rebates to individual submetered customers.

If you are unsure that your building owner passed on the credit, you can request they provide you with an itemized statement that includes your billing rate and the total charges for the billing period, which should include the most recent Climate Credit amount.

Will I get this credit forever?

When it was first created, the state’s Cap-and-Trade program was originally scheduled to end in 2030. But lawmakers reached a deal last month extending it to 2045 —which also extended the Climate Credit, financed by what major polluters pay the state.

Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the state Legislature are very supportive of cap-and-trade, with Newsom calling it a critical part of California’s transition to a greener economy. Extending cap-and-trade, Newsom said, “will save money on your electric bills, stabilize gas supply, and slash toxic air pollution.”

Since the Climate Credit began in 2014, the amount individual customers receive each year has consistently increased.

Republicans — a minority in both chambers of the state Legislature — argue that cap-and-trade raises the costs for all residents.

A February report from the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee did find that the program has increased gas costs statewide by about 26 cents per gallon, but the effect on electricity rates has been minimal, as the state’s grid isn’t very carbon-intensive.

This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.