What is TOU-GS-1 and are you eligible?
Business customers with demands of 20 kilowatts (kW) or less are eligible for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Rate Schedule TOU-GS-1.
Basic Charges
TOU-GS-1 can have two to four main charges depending on the rate option:
A monthly customer charge, which does not vary based on your usage.
Time-Of-Use (TOU) energy charges are the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy used in each TOU period. TOU periods vary by time of day, day of the week, and season (see TOU Periods chart).
Facilities-Related Demand (FRD) charges apply year-round and are calculated per kilowatt (kW) according to the highest recorded demand during each monthly billing period, regardless of season, day of the week, or time of day.
Time-Related Demand (TRD) charges apply year-round and are calculated per kW according to the highest recorded demand during summer On-Peak and winter Mid-Peak TOU periods on weekdays, excluding weekends and holidays.
What is the difference between demand and energy consumption?
Imagine using 10, 100-watt light bulbs. The moment the 10 bulbs are turned on, they place a demand on the power grid for 1,000 watts of electricity (10 bulbs x 100 watts each), or 1 kW. In this example, your meter would register 1 kW of demand. Whereas, if these bulbs are left on for 10 hours they will consume 10,000 watt-hours of energy (1,000 watts x 10 hours), or 10 kWh, and your meter would register 10 kWh of energy used.
TOU-GS-1 Rate Options
Option D has Time-Related and Facilities-Related Demand charges. In exchange for paying demand charges, you will pay lower energy charges per kWh.
Option E has no demand charges. In exchange for paying no demand charges, you will pay higher energy charges per kWh.
Option ES is available to customers with eligible Behind-the-Meter (BTM) energy storage systems only. The required minimum energy storage capacity is equal to the greater of either 4.8 kWh or at least 0.05% of your annual usage (in kWh) over the previous 12 months. Both standalone and paired storage [e.g., Net Energy Metering (NEM)] customers are eligible. This rate option is capped at 15,000 customers. Customers taking service on this rate option are exempt from being served on Standby.
Critical Peak Pricing (CPP)
CPP is an optional rate that offers a discount on summer electricity rates in exchange for higher prices during 12 - 15 CPP events per year. When called, CPP events will be held from 4 – 9 p.m. on any day of the week and usually occur on the hottest summer days. By reducing your electricity use during an event, you can avoid these higher charges. Plus, your business will earn credits on your electricity bills during the summer — when your bills are typically the highest.
To see if CPP is a good fit for your business, we provide one full year of Bill Protection. With Bill Protection, we guarantee if you pay more during your first year on CPP, we’ll credit you the difference. You can choose to un-enroll from CPP at any time. Keep in mind, if you unenroll from CPP, you will not be able to make another rate change to your account for at least one year.
CPP event notifications are sent to you a day ahead of the event so that you can plan your usage. Go to sce.com/ CPPupdatecontact to update or register your contact preferences for alerts. For more information about CPP, go to sce.com/CPP.
New Standard Time-of-Use (TOU) Periods
An Online Tool to Compare and Select Your Rate Options
We encourage you to use our online Rate Plan Comparison Tool to compare your current energy costs to other rate options, including CPP. The rate analysis generated by this tool for your account will help you select the best rate plan for your business. To access the Rate Plan Comparison Tool, please visit sce.com/ratetool.
Note: The Rate Plan Comparison Tool can only complete rate analyses for accounts with 12 or more months of historical energy data.
Holidays are New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. When any holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be recognized as a holiday. However, no change will be made for holidays falling on a Saturday.
This rate sheet is meant to be an aid in understanding SCE’s Rate Schedule TOU-GS-1. It does not replace pricing information contained in the CPUC-approved tariffs. Please refer to the tariffs for a complete list of terms and conditions of service, which can be viewed online at sce.com/tariffbooks.