SMUD electricity bills to rise for some plans as summer peak rates take effect June 1
SMUD customers on the utility’s Time-of-Day rate plan will see higher electricity costs during peak evening hours beginning June 1 as summer pricing takes effect.
Under SMUD’s standard residential pricing structure, customers pay different rates based on the season and time of day. During the summer, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District uses off-peak, mid-peak and peak pricing blocks, with rates at their highest from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.
“SMUD encourages customers to shift their energy use during summer months when demand peaks between 5 and 8 p.m. because that’s when energy costs are highest,” Gamaliel Ortiz, a spokesperson for SMUD, wrote in a Tuesday email statement. “By running large appliances before 5 p.m. or after 8 p.m., customers can save money and help keep the electric system running smoothly during busy hours.”
The summer pricing structure will apply from June 1 through Sept. 30. Under summer rates, customers on the Time-of-Day plan will pay 37.65 cents per kilowatt-hour during peak hours — a 19.89-cent increase from non-summer peak pricing.
Off-peak hours, usually from 8 p.m. to 5 p.m. in non-summer months, also will be split into mid-peak blocks from noon to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to midnight, priced at 21.39 cents per kilowatt-hour. Off-peak hours from midnight to noon, as well as weekends and federal holidays, will cost customers 15.50 cents per kilowatt-hour.
“For simple tips, customers can shift their energy use to outside of peak hours, use smaller cooking devices, use fans to cool homes or turn up their thermostat a few degrees. Our EV customers can also save by charging their vehicles overnight,” Ortiz wrote in an email.
The summer pricing increase follows a 3% rate hike implemented in January, the first of two increases approved by the SMUD Board of Directors last year. The second rate hike will take effect in 2027.
