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Keep scrolling for a line-by-line breakdown of a sample Net Energy Metering (NEM) PG&E bill.
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Net Energy Metering (NEM) Sample Bill
1. Account Number: This is where you will find your existing PG&E account number.
2. PG&E Electric Monthly Delivery Charges: This is the total monthly charges from PG&E for electric service. It includes minimum charges for maintaining your grid interconnection. At the annual true up for NEM customers, this will also include your accumulated transmission and distribution charges, if any.
3. RCEA Electric Generation Charges: This is RCEA’s charge for generating the electricity for the grid that powers your home or business. This charge replaces PG&E’s fee for the same service. These charges are detailed on Page 7 of this Sample Bill (see below).
4. Total Amount Due: The total amount due includes ALL of your fees for PG&E gas services and electric delivery, as well as RCEA electric generation services. You should pay the total amount due on your bill to PG&E, as indicated.
5. Service Agreement ID: The service agreement number is a unique number in addition to your account number that documents your particular arrangement with PG&E (including metering information and other factors) in order to calculate applicable charges.
6. Minimum Delivery Charge: This represents the minimum service charge per day to be connected to PG&E’s electricity grid. It is usually around $12 per month.
7. Electric Monthly Charges: This is a charge that must be paid to PG&E every month to ensure grid access. It matches the charge on the summary page of your bill (item 2).
Note: The values shown in boxes 9-13 do not most accurately reflect customer charges. They were rounded to whole numbers to simplify calculations for the sake of this explanation.
8. Charges (or Credits) for Electric Delivery: Most NEM customers are on a Time-of-Use (TOU) rate, which means the energy that you either generate or use is worth more at peak times. Some NEM customers may still be on a tiered rate plan, which is based only on how much energy is generated or used.
9. Non-Bypassable Charge: Most charges are included in the electricity rate; Non-Bypassable Charges (NBCs) are separated into a different line item so that they cannot be reduced by solar generation. The Net Usage Adjustment ensures that customers are not double charged for NBCs. If you produce more electricity than you use, it will be a positive charge; if you use more than you produce, it will be negative.
10. Generation Credit: This is the amount PG&E would have charged you for generation if you were not an RCEA customer. Because RCEA now provides generation, your PG&E charges or credits will be reduced by this amount.
11. Power Charge Indifference Adjustment: This fee is required by PG&E of all RCEA customers. It is intended to ensure that customers who switch to RCEA pay for energy that PG&E procured on their behalf prior to their switch.
12. Franchise Fee Surcharge: This fee is collected by PG&E to support local municipalities and their services.
13. Monthly PG&E NEM Delivery Charges: This is the sum of PG&E’s charges or credits for electric delivery, which will be used for your annual true-up calculation.
14. Rate Schedule: This is where you will find your current rate schedule. More information on the various rates can be found on our Plans & Rates page.
15. Generation: This is the breakdown of charges for electricity you either consumed from RCEA or generated from your system. A positive number is the net electricity used. A negative number is the net electricity your system produced.
16. Net Generator Bonus: If you generate more electricity than you use each month, RCEA will credit you at your retail energy rate plus an additional $0.01/kWh bonus. Those surplus credits will be rolled over to the next month for you to use later in the year or to cash out at RCEA’s annual generation true-up in May.
17. Net Charges: This represents the total of charges and credits for the month. A positive number expresses a charge, and a negative number expresses a credit.
18. Energy Commission Surcharge: This fee is collected on behalf of the California Energy Commission and applies to all customers, regardless of service provider. It was previously included in PG&E’s fees.
19. Credited to NEM Balance: This number represents the amount of credit earned over the past month.
20. Your RCEA NEM Credit Balance Now: This number represents your total RCEA NEM credit balance. This amount will roll forward and be applied to any charges you will have next month to continue reducing your bill.
21. Total RCEA Electric Generation Charges: This is the sum of all electric generation charges from RCEA for the month, which matches the electric generation charge on the summary page of your bill. If your credit balance is greater than the month’s net charges, this amount will be zero.