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Welcome to Santa Barbara Clean Energy's new website. You're in the right place!
Please explore the site and feel free to contact us with any questions - we're here to help.

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Rates & Billing

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What sets Santa Barbara Clean Energy apart

Santa Barbara Clean Energy (SBCE) is a not-for-profit provider of electricity. We source power from clean energy sources and provide it to homes and businesses in the City of Santa Barbara.

We provide clean electricity. SCE delivers it to you.

Sections

SBCE offers two service levels

Graphic of a house and leaf with text "100% Green" above

100% Green supplies completely carbon-free and greenhouse gas-free energy at a slight premium, aligning with the City’s goal of 100% carbon-free energy use. 

To make a significant impact on climate change, most customers are enrolled in 100% Green.

view 100% green rates

Graphic of a house and leaf with text "Green Start" above

Green Start delivers affordable clean energy at rates competitive with SCE's, and customers receiving financial assistance can choose Green Start. 

This energy mix is half carbon-free energy and half SCE's energy mix, surpassing or meeting state renewable energy standards. 

view green start rates

Take your clean energy commitment to the next level with Solar+

Vector graphic of green house with solar + tittle

Solar+ is SBCE's add-on option for customers with solar and/or batteries. This program allows you to combine locally generated energy from your home or business's solar panels with either the 100% Green or Green Start plans. Solar+ is SBCE’s equivalent to SCE’s Solar Billing Plan (SBP) or Net Energy Metering (NEM) billing plans.

Solar+ customers are automatically enrolled in Solar+ paired with 100% Green, ensuring your energy use is entirely carbon-free.

Earn for Excess Energy: SBCE pays $0.0663/kWh for any excess energy your solar panels produce annually.

Flexible Options: If your solar system doesn’t generate all the electricity you need, choose between 100% Green for fully carbon-free energy or Green Start for at least 50% clean energy at standard SCE rates.

New to Solar?

Typically, your solar installation company will handle your Net Metering setup and automatically enroll you in Solar+. Have questions? Contact our team - we’re here to help!

Solar+ NEM Terms and Conditions | Solar+ SBP Terms and Conditions

Joint Rate Comparison

As part of our mutual commitment to support your energy choice, SBCE and SCE have partnered to provide you with a comparison of typical electric rates, average monthly charges, and sources of energy generated. View current and previous Joint Rate Comparisons below:

March 2026 Joint Rate Comparison

Previous Joint Rate Comparisons:
January 2026 | June 2025 | November 2025
January 2025 | October 2024 | July 2024

Power Charge Indifference Adjustment

The Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) is a fee charged by investor-owned utilities like SCE or PG&E to all customers, including those who receive generation service from a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) like Santa Barbara Clean Energy.

The fee, which is set annually by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), is meant to repay the IOU for long-term power contracts. Due to the dynamics of inputs to the PCIA, the fee can vary dramatically from year to year. These variations create rate volatility for all customers. The PCIA is not a SBCE charge; it is a SCE charge.

The CPUC has updated how the PCIA is calculated, and as of January 1, 2026, SBCE customers are seeing higher PCIA fees as a result. SBCE has joined a number of community choice aggregators in objecting to implementation of the new calculation and will continue to advocate on behalf of our customers. To learn more about PCIA charges, visit Cal-CCA.org.