Ava Community Energy or PG&E: what a household pays beta
Ava Community Energy buys the electricity for 16 member cities; PG&E delivers it and sends the bill. Pick your city, rate plan and usage to see the official comparison of a typical bill on each Ava Community Energy product and on PG&E, with an estimate for your own usage.
Every plan on the official comparison
The typical monthly bill printed on the comparison for each residential rate plan, and the difference from PG&E (red: more, blue: less).
All Ava customers
PG&E–Ava Community Energy joint rate comparison: Ava rates are current as of January 2026 utilizing 2018 Vintage PCIA · PG&E Rates are current as of March 2026 utilizing 2025 Vintage PCIA. Source (fetched 2026-10-20).
| Plan | Typical use | PG&E | Bright Choice | Renewable 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 Tiered · sheet: E-1 | 371 kWh | $154.10 | $153.88 −0.1% | $160.59 +4.2% |
| E-1 CARE Tiered · sheet: E-1L (CARE) | 434 kWh | $100.66 | $100.40 −0.3% | $108.26 +7.6% |
| E-TOU-C Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm every day · sheet: E-TOU C | 338 kWh | $138.52 | $138.33 −0.1% | $144.43 +4.3% |
| E-TOU-C CARE Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm every day · sheet: E-TOU CL (CARE) | 347 kWh | $78.59 | $78.39 −0.3% | $84.66 +7.7% |
| E-TOU-D Time-of-use, peak 5–8 pm weekdays · sheet: E-TOU D | 636 kWh | $248.78 | $248.41 −0.1% | $259.91 +4.5% |
| E-TOU-D CARE Time-of-use, peak 5–8 pm weekdays · sheet: E-TOU DL (CARE) | 641 kWh | $147.21 | $146.84 −0.3% | $158.43 +7.6% |
| E-ELEC Electric home · sheet: E-ELEC | 922 kWh | $325.50 | $325.06 −0.1% | $341.63 +5.0% |
| E-ELEC CARE Electric home · sheet: E-ELECL (CARE) The sheet does not print this usage legibly; derived as bill ÷ total rate. | 1,192 kWh | $247.95 | $247.38 −0.2% | $268.81 +8.4% |
| EV2-A Electric vehicle · sheet: EV2-A | 710 kWh | $231.25 | $230.88 −0.2% | $243.68 +5.4% |
| EV2-A CARE Electric vehicle · sheet: EV2-AL | 789 kWh | $146.31 | $145.91 −0.3% | $160.11 +9.4% |
- Where a council made Renewable 100 the default, it did so for residents "except those on CARE, FERA, and/or Medical Baseline rates", who default to Bright Choice (each city on Ava’s "What’s your default plan?" page: https://avaenergy.org/your-energy-options/plans-and-rates/compare-service-plans/).
Why the bills differ
The delivery part of the bill goes to PG&E whichever provider you choose. What differs is the price of the power itself and the exit fee (the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment, PCIA): a charge on CCA customers for power contracts the utility signed before they left, set by the CPUC each year by the year the customer's community left (its “vintage”). How it moved since 2018, by utility and vintage: the exit fee by year.
Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm every day (E-TOU-C), Bright Choice: the power price is 7.42¢ a kWh against PG&E's 12.13¢ (4.71¢ lower). The exit fee and franchise fee (PCIA/FF) is 3.74¢ for Ava Community Energy customers and −0.92¢ for PG&E customers (4.66¢ more). Delivery is the same. Net: −0.06¢ a kWh, or −$0.19 on the typical 338 kWh bill (−0.1%).
Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm every day (E-TOU-C), CARE, Bright Choice: the power price is 7.44¢ a kWh against PG&E's 12.15¢ (4.71¢ lower). The exit fee and franchise fee (PCIA/FF) is 3.74¢ for Ava Community Energy customers and −0.92¢ for PG&E customers (4.66¢ more). Delivery is the same. Net: −0.06¢ a kWh, or −$0.20 on the typical 347 kWh bill (−0.3%).
The difference over time
Every comparison found from 2021 on, most of them from archived copies (utilities overwrite these sheets in place).
| Rates as of | Plan | Utility bill | Products (vs the utility) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 Ava customers on the 2018 PCIA vintage | E-TOU-C · 338 kWh | $138.52 | Bright Choice default $138.33 −0.1% Renewable 100 $144.43 +4.3% | source |
| January 2026 Alameda County / Ava area | E-1 · 365 kWh | $149.89 | Bright Choice default $149.68 −0.1% Renewable 100 $156.29 +4.3% | source |
| September 2025 Alameda County / Ava area | E-1 · 365 kWh | $157.80 | Bright Choice default $154.95 −1.8% Renewable 100 $158.71 +0.6% | source |
| March 2025 Alameda County / Ava area | E-1 · 365 kWh | $158.90 | Bright Choice default $157.61 −0.8% Renewable 100 $161.45 +1.6% | source |
| January 2025 Alameda County / Ava area | E-1 · 365 kWh | $158.90 | Bright Choice default $156.06 −1.8% Renewable 100 $159.81 +0.6% | source |
| July 2024 Alameda County / Ava area | E-1 · 374 kWh | $156.98 | Bright Choice default $154.05 −1.9% Renewable 100 $157.91 +0.6% | source |
| January 2023 Alameda County / EBCE area | E-1 · 379 kWh | $133.27 | Bright Choice default $131.49 −1.3% Renewable 100 $136.11 +2.1% | source |
| March 2022 Alameda County / EBCE area | E-1 · 389 kWh | $133.11 | Bright Choice default $132.53 −0.4% Renewable 100 $137.00 +2.9% | source |
| March 2021 Alameda County / EBCE area | E-1 · 402 kWh | $113.20 | Bright Choice default $112.74 −0.4% Brilliant 100 $113.20 0.0% Renewable 100 $117.23 +3.6% | source |
| March 2021 Alameda County / EBCE area | E-TOU-C · 587 kWh | $173.33 | Bright Choice default $172.69 −0.4% Brilliant 100 $173.33 0.0% Renewable 100 $179.20 +3.4% | source |
Your options
Switch to another Ava Community Energy product
Web form (choose green power / lower your bill / come back to ava / switch to pg&e buttons -> ava.ccaprocess.com). Ava Community Energy: change your product.
Return to PG&E
Ava Community Energy: opt out · +1 833.699.3223.
“Is there a fee for opting out? No, there is no fee for opting out of Ava service.” source
“Customers who opt out of Ava service within the first 60 days of Ava service may return to Ava at any time. Based on state law, customers who opt out after the first 60 days of service with Ava must wait one year before returning to Ava.” source
PG&E's rules for returning customers
After 60 days: six months’ notice: “Former Bundled Service Customers that have been Automatically Enrolled in CCA Service returning to bundled service after the Follow-up Notification Period must provide the CCA with a six (6) month advance notice and are subject to the terms and conditions of Bundled Portfolio Service (BPS) as set forth below.” source
Or return at once: “Alternatively, customers have the ability to return immediately (at or about the next scheduled meter read) to Utility service and receive Transitional Bundled Service (TBS) commodity pricing terms as set forth in PG&E Schedule TBCC and be subject to the provisions and applicable charges of the CCA Cost Responsibility Surcharge as set forth in Schedule CCA-CRS for 6 months after returning to utility service.” source
Then a minimum stay: “Customers receiving this service make a one-year commitment and shall not be allowed to return to CCA service until their one-year minimum period has been completed. ... In the event a customer receives service under TBS during the six-month advance notice period, the time served under TBS shall apply toward the one-year BPS commitment.” source
Re-entry fee: “b. CUSTOMER RE-ENTRY This charge is imposed on the customer. This fee covers the cost of processing customer requests to switch back to PG&E Bundled Service after the Opt-Out period has expired. Fee ... $4.24 account” source
Member cities and their default product
The default product is the one a city's customers are enrolled in unless they choose another; where a CCA offers several, each member city's council chooses it. Every city's default and the council decisions behind it.
| City | Default product | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | Renewable 100 since 2022-01 (council vote June 2021) | source | |
| Berkeley | Renewable 100 since 2022-03 residential | source | |
| Dublin | Renewable 100 since 2022-01 residential | source | |
| Emeryville | Renewable 100 since 2022-10 (council vote March 2022) | source | |
| Fremont | Renewable 100 since 2025-08 residential | source | |
| Hayward | Renewable 100 since 2022-01 (council vote July 2021) | source | |
| Lathrop | Bright Choice since 2025-04 (launch) | source | |
| Livermore | Bright Choice since 2018 (launch) | source | |
| Newark | Bright Choice since 2021 (launch) | source | |
| Oakland | Bright Choice since 2018 (launch) | source | |
| Piedmont | Renewable 100 since 2018 (council vote 2018) | source | |
| Pleasanton | Renewable 100 since 2022-01 (council vote July 2021) | source | |
| San Leandro | Renewable 100 The council voted on 2026-04-06 (6 ayes, 1 absent; Resolution 2026-033) to select Bright Choice as the default; Ava expects the switch in 2027, "most likely Q3 or Q4". source | source | |
| Stockton | Bright Choice since 2025-04 (launch) | source | |
| Tracy | Bright Choice since 2021 (launch) | source | |
| Union City | Bright Choice since 2018 (launch) | source |
Ava Community Energy in the CCA money pages: finances, credit ratings, money returned to customers, and money between Ava Community Energy and its member city governments. · Every CCA