SMUD rate increases over time
Sacramento Municipal Utility District's average residential electricity price has risen from 13.49 cents per kWh in 2015 to 17.87 cents in 2024, an increase of about 32 percent, or roughly 3.2 percent per year. The chart compares SMUD (solid) against the state residential average (dashed). Hover any point for the exact figure.
What rising SMUD rates could cost you
SMUD rates have risen about 3.2% per year. Enter your bill to see what that pace of increase could compound to over time, and what you have likely already absorbed. This is an estimate, not a guarantee.
Estimate only. Projects your current bill forward at SMUD's historical average rate increase (3.2% per year, from EIA data); it assumes your usage stays the same except for any add-ons you select. Actual rates depend on your usage, rate plan, and the utility's future filings, and are not guaranteed. This is general information, not financial advice.
Current residential rates
SMUD residential rates are shown below, from the utility's published tariffs and the public Utility Rate Database. Rates vary by plan, season, and usage and change over time.
| Plan | Energy charge | Fixed / basic |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Rate (flat, all-day) - Summer (Jun 1-Sep 30) | 21.89 c/kWh | $27.00/mo System Infrastructure Fixed Charge (SIFC) |
| Fixed Rate (flat, all-day) - Non-Summer (Oct 1-May 31) | 13.71 c/kWh | $27.00/mo SIFC |
| Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m. peak) - Summer Peak / Mid-Peak / Off-Peak | 37.65 / 21.39 / 15.50 c/kWh (Peak / Mid-Peak / Off-Peak; Non-Summer 17.76 Peak / 12.85 Off-Peak) | $27.00/mo SIFC |
Standard residential rates effective June 20, 2025 (per SMUD residential rate schedule). The default residential plan is the Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) rate; a flat Fixed Rate option is available and runs on average about 4% higher than TOD. All plans carry the same $27.00/month System Infrastructure Fixed Charge. Hydrogeneration charge is currently $0.00/kWh.
Net metering and solar export: Municipal - Solar & Storage Rate (SSR), flat export credit
SMUD is a publicly owned municipal utility, so it is NOT regulated by the CPUC and does NOT use California's NEM 3.0 / NBT framework. Instead it runs its own mandatory Solar and Storage Rate (SSR), in effect for all new residential solar/solar+storage systems approved on or after March 1, 2022. Under SSR, you first use solar to offset your own usage in real time; any excess energy you export to the grid is credited at a flat Export Compensation Rate of 9.6 cents/kWh, effective June 1, 2026 (raised from 7.4 cents/kWh) - the same credit regardless of time of day or season. That export credit is well below the retail energy price (about 14-22 cents/kWh), so the economics favor self-consuming solar (and pairing with a battery) rather than exporting. SMUD updates the export rate every four years, capped at plus or minus 30% per cycle. Customers who installed under the older Net Energy Metering (NEM) rate before March 1, 2022 are grandfathered on NEM through Dec. 31, 2030 (unless they move, materially modify their system, or add SMUD-incentivized storage).
What it means for solar
SMUD rates have risen about 3.2 percent per year over the past decade. Solar can offset that grid cost, every kWh you generate and use is a kWh you do not buy, but how much you save depends on your rate level and on how exported power is credited (Municipal - Solar & Storage Rate (SSR), flat export credit). Where exports are worth little, using your own solar, often with a battery, matters more than selling surplus back. Whether solar makes sense depends on your usage, roof, and rate plan, so get a site-specific quote.
SMUD service area
SMUD serves Sacramento, California.
To confirm whether a specific address is served by SMUD, check your electricity bill. A ZIP lookup tool is coming to this site.
Full data and sources
Per-utility prices are computed from EIA Form 861 (bundled residential revenue divided by sales), which reconciles to the EIA's published figures. The state average comes from EIA retail-sales data. These are public-domain U.S. government data.
| Year | SMUD (c/kWh) | State avg (c/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13.49 | 16.99 |
| 2016 | 13.92 | 17.39 |
| 2017 | 14.06 | 18.31 |
| 2018 | 14.45 | 18.84 |
| 2019 | 14.91 | 19.15 |
| 2020 | 15.28 | 20.45 |
| 2021 | 16.21 | 22.82 |
| 2022 | 16.74 | 25.84 |
| 2023 | 16.89 | 29.51 |
| 2024 | 17.87 | 31.97 |
Sources: EIA Form EIA-861 annual data (Sales to Ultimate Customers files, 2015-2024) - source of SMUD bundled residential revenue/sales/customers · EIA Electricity Sales, Revenue, and Average Price - Table 6 (avg residential price by utility), 2024 sanity check · SMUD Residential rates (Fixed Rate and Time-of-Day, SIFC $27/mo; effective June 20, 2025) · SMUD Solar and Storage Rate (SSR) schedule and program details · SMUD news: Solar and Storage export compensation raised to 9.6 c/kWh effective June 1, 2026 (from 7.4 c/kWh) · SMUD service area / company information (counties, ~900 sq mi, ~1.6M population, total accounts) · Sacramento Municipal Utility District - Wikipedia (service area: Sacramento County, parts of Placer County)
FAQ
How much have SMUD electricity rates gone up?
SMUD's average residential price rose about 32 percent since 2015, roughly 3.2 percent per year, reaching about 17.87 cents per kWh in 2024.
Does SMUD offer net metering for solar?
SMUD uses Municipal - Solar & Storage Rate (SSR), flat export credit. See the net metering section above for exactly how exported solar is credited and what that means for your system.
Is solar worth it with SMUD?
It depends on your electricity usage, roof, system size, and whether you add a battery. Higher rates and rate increases make solar more attractive, but the value of exported power depends on SMUD's net metering rules. Get a site-specific quote rather than relying on a general estimate.
Where does this rate data come from?
The per-year prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Form 861, and the current rate structures come from the public Utility Rate Database. Both are public, free, and updated regularly.