Santa Barbara Clean Energy or SCE: what a household pays beta
Santa Barbara Clean Energy buys the electricity; SCE delivers it and sends the bill. Pick your city, rate plan and usage to see the official comparison of a typical bill on each Santa Barbara Clean Energy product and on SCE, 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 SCE (red: more, blue: less).
Santa Barbara
SCE–Santa Barbara Clean Energy joint rate comparison: SCE rates are current as of June 1, 2026. SBCE rates are current as of March 15, 2026. Source (fetched 2026-10-20).
| Plan | Typical use | SCE | Green Start | 100% Green default |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D Tiered · sheet: DOMESTIC | 424 kWh | $162.73 | $162.73 0.0% | $177.99 +9.4% |
| D CARE Tiered · sheet: D-CARE | 424 kWh | $96.19 | $96.19 0.0% | $111.45 +15.9% |
| D FERA Tiered · sheet: D-FERA | 424 kWh | $123.55 | $123.55 0.0% | $138.82 +12.4% |
| TOU-D-4-9 Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm · sheet: TOU-D-4-9 | 424 kWh | $160.78 | $160.76 0.0% | $176.02 +9.5% |
| TOU-D-4-9 CARE Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm · sheet: TOU-D-4-9-CARE | 424 kWh | $94.88 | $94.86 0.0% | $110.12 +16.1% |
| TOU-D-4-9 FERA Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm · sheet: TOU-D-4-9-FERA | 424 kWh | $121.96 | $121.94 0.0% | $137.20 +12.5% |
| TOU-D-5-8 Time-of-use, peak 5–8 pm · sheet: TOU-D-5-8 | 424 kWh | $160.64 | $160.62 0.0% | $175.89 +9.5% |
| TOU-D-5-8 CARE Time-of-use, peak 5–8 pm · sheet: TOU-D-5-8-CARE | 424 kWh | $94.78 | $94.76 0.0% | $110.03 +16.1% |
| TOU-D-5-8 FERA Time-of-use, peak 5–8 pm · sheet: TOU-D-5-8-FERA | 424 kWh | $121.84 | $121.83 0.0% | $137.09 +12.5% |
| TOU-D-PRIME Time-of-use PRIME · sheet: TOU-D-PRIME | 424 kWh | $166.70 | $166.70 0.0% | $181.97 +9.2% |
| TOU-D-PRIME CARE Time-of-use PRIME · sheet: TOU-D-PRIME-CARE | 424 kWh | $98.88 | $98.88 0.0% | $114.14 +15.4% |
| TOU-D-PRIME FERA Time-of-use PRIME · sheet: TOU-D-PRIME-FERA | 424 kWh | $126.82 | $126.82 0.0% | $142.08 +12.0% |
Why the bills differ
The delivery part of the bill goes to SCE 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 (TOU-D-4-9PM), 100% Green: the power price is 12.95¢ a kWh against SCE's 11.49¢ (1.47¢ higher). The exit fee and franchise fee (SCE's “surcharges”: the Cost Responsibility Surcharge, which includes the PCIA, and the franchise fee) is 2.72¢ for Santa Barbara Clean Energy customers and 0.00¢ for SCE customers (2.72¢ more). (SCE prints no surcharge for its own customers: their share is inside its generation rate.) Delivery is printed 0.59¢ lower for Santa Barbara Clean Energy customers. Net: 3.60¢ a kWh, or $15.24 on the typical 424 kWh bill (+9.5%).
Time-of-use, peak 4–9 pm (TOU-D-4-9PM), CARE, 100% Green: the power price is 12.95¢ a kWh against SCE's 11.49¢ (1.47¢ higher). The exit fee and franchise fee (SCE's “surcharges”: the Cost Responsibility Surcharge, which includes the PCIA, and the franchise fee) is 2.13¢ for Santa Barbara Clean Energy customers and 0.00¢ for SCE customers (2.13¢ more). (SCE prints no surcharge for its own customers: their share is inside its generation rate.) Delivery is the same. Net: 3.60¢ a kWh, or $15.24 on the typical 424 kWh bill (+16.1%).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCE June 1, 2026 / CCA March 15, 2026 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 424 kWh | $162.73 | Green Start $162.73 0.0% 100% Green default $177.99 +9.4% | source |
| SCE January 1, 2026 / CCA March 15, 2026 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 424 kWh | $163.62 | Green Start $163.62 0.0% 100% Green default $178.88 +9.3% | source |
| November 15, 2025 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 426 kWh | $169.19 | Green Start $169.19 0.0% 100% Green default $184.53 +9.1% | source |
| June 1, 2025 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 426 kWh | $146.98 | Green Start $146.98 0.0% 100% Green default $162.32 +10.4% | source |
| SCE March 1, 2025 / CCA April 1, 2025 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 426 kWh | $150.08 | Green Start $150.08 0.0% 100% Green default $158.60 +5.7% | source |
| SCE March 1, 2024 / CCA April 1, 2024 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 520 kWh | $196.15 | Green Start $196.15 0.0% 100% Green default $204.47 +4.2% | source |
| SCE June 1, 2023 / CCA February 1, 2023 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 569 kWh | $209.73 | Green Start $203.74 −2.9% 100% Green default $212.84 +1.5% | source |
| SCE January 1, 2023 / CCA February 1, 2023 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 569 kWh | $199.17 | Green Start $199.17 0.0% 100% Green default $208.27 +4.6% | source |
| SCE June 1, 2022 / CCA July 1, 2022 City of Santa Barbara | DOMESTIC (D) · 564 kWh | $178.03 | Green Start $178.03 0.0% 100% Green default $187.05 +5.1% | source |
Your options
Switch to another Santa Barbara Clean Energy product
Phone only - (805) 897-1979. Santa Barbara Clean Energy: change your product.
Return to SCE
Santa Barbara Clean Energy: opt out · (805) 897-1979.
“If you opt out of SBCE, you will no longer be eligible to receive SBCE rebates and incentives and cannot re-enroll in SBCE for one year.” source
SCE's rules for returning customers
Within the first 60 days: “If you opt out within the first 60 days after transferring to CCA Service, your account will be transferred from CCA Service and to the same bundled service you were on prior to being transferred to CCA Service. at no cost to you and with no penalty.” source
After 60 days: six months’ notice: “If you opt out of CCA service more than 60 days after being transferred to CCA Service, you will be required to provide a completed Six-Month Advance Notice to Return to Bundled Portfolio Service (Form 14-955) before you will be eligible to return to SCE bundled service.” source
Or return at once: “Request an immediate return to SCE (during the six-month advance notice period), in which case your service account will be served on Schedule Procurement Charge — Transitional Bundled Service (Schedule PC-TBS) for the six-month advance notice period. You will continue to pay CCA CRS charges while on TBS service.” source
Then a minimum stay: “Following the end of the six-month advance notice period, your account will be returned to SCE's bundled service for a minimum commitment of 12 months. During this 12-month period, customers will not be allowed to switch to CCA Service or Direct Access Service until their 12-month commitment has been fulfilled ... *The time served under TBS shall apply toward the 12-month minimum commitment with SCE.” source
Re-entry fee: “Note: Either option is subject to a one-time re-entry fee to cover costs associated with account processing. Please see CCA Info Tariff.” 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara | 100% Green since 2021-10 (CCA service start per cca_members.csv | source |
Santa Barbara Clean Energy in the CCA money pages: finances, credit ratings, money returned to customers, and money between Santa Barbara Clean Energy and its member city governments. · Every CCA