SMUD Rate Plans: Which One Costs Less?
Compare the residential rate plans of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD): Fixed Rate (RF01), Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate (RTL1), and Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate (RT02). Enter your monthly usage to see your estimated bill on each plan, what it’s made of, and where the cheapest plan changes.
Sources, dates, and what’s not included
Rate schedules
- Fixed Rate (RF01): rates in effect from January 1, 2026, checked against the official schedule on October 4, 2026. Sources: Rate Schedule R (Residential Service), Rate Schedule HGA (Hydro Generation Adjustment).
- Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate (RTL1): rates in effect from January 1, 2026, checked against the official schedule on October 4, 2026. Sources: Rate Schedule R-TOD (Residential Time-of-Day Service), Rate Schedule HGA (Hydro Generation Adjustment).
- Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate (RT02): rates in effect from January 1, 2026, checked against the official schedule on October 4, 2026. Sources: Rate Schedule R-TOD (Residential Time-of-Day Service), Rate Schedule HGA (Hydro Generation Adjustment).
Not included
- Utility tax for cities and unincorporated areas of Sacramento County (the “Sacramento City Tax” line on SMUD’s sample bill) (SMUD, Back of bill; SMUD, Understanding your bill (sample bill))
- California State Energy Charge (the “State Surcharge” line on SMUD’s sample bill) (SMUD, Back of bill; SMUD, Understanding your bill (sample bill))
- Charges for optional programs you sign up for and for optional metering equipment (Special Metering Charge) aren’t included.
- Discounts and charges for the conditions listed under “Account conditions this estimate can’t cover” in the calculator.
Notes
- Annual amounts are estimates at current rates, not a forecast of future bills. Monthly amounts are the year’s total divided by 12.
- An approved rate change for Fixed Rate (RF01) takes effect on January 1, 2027, under Rate Schedule R (Residential Service). These estimates use the rates in effect now.
- An approved rate change for Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate (RTL1) and Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate (RT02) takes effect on January 1, 2027, under Rate Schedule R-TOD (Residential Time-of-Day Service). These estimates use the rates in effect now.
- Holidays listed in the rate schedules are billed like weekends. Usage on those days is also spread like a weekend day.
- Your monthly kWh is spread over the hours of the day with a typical hourly pattern for homes in Sacramento County, CA, derived from the End-Use Load Profiles for the U.S. Building Stock. The pattern comes from building energy models calibrated to measured data, not from your own meter, so your bill can differ.
- The apartment pattern is based on 444 building models, compared with 1,515 for houses, so it is less certain.
- Data includes information from the ResStock™ dataset developed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- See the methodology for how the usage patterns are made and what the estimates include.
- Choose your Type of home and enter your Monthly usage in kWh. To use different amounts for the hot and cool months, check the box under it and enter both.
- Optionally, choose how much evening use you could move to overnight with Shift evening use to overnight.
- Answer the questions under Your account. Plans you don’t qualify for are listed with the reason instead of a price.
- Read the result: the cheapest plan for you, the monthly and yearly cost on each plan, where the cheapest plan changes, and a line-by-line breakdown. Share the page’s address to share your inputs.
SMUD residential rate plans
- Fixed Rate (RF01). One price for every hour of the day. System Infrastructure Fixed Charge of $27.00 a month.
- Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate (RTL1). Prices change by time of day: Peak, Mid-Peak, and Off-Peak. System Infrastructure Fixed Charge of $17.00 a month. The Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate is only available to homes with an electrical panel of 125 amps or less. Optional: Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit. SMUD describes this rate as a fit for homes that use less than 270 kWh a month. This is SMUD’s guideline, not an eligibility requirement. (Sources: Residential rates, Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate)
- Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate (RT02). SMUD’s standard residential rate. Prices change by time of day: Peak, Mid-Peak, and Off-Peak. System Infrastructure Fixed Charge of $27.00 a month. Optional: Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit.
Average monthly bill by usage
| Plan | 500 kWh | 1,000 kWh | 1,500 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Rate (RF01) | $109.18 | $191.37 | $273.55 |
| Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate (RTL1) | $115.03 | $213.06 | $311.09 |
| Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate (RT02) | $106.47 | $185.95 | $265.42 |
The Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate is only available to homes with an electrical panel of 125 amps or less.
Effective price per kWh
The fixed charge is spread over fewer kWh when you use less, so the price per kWh you pay falls as your usage rises. Where the lines cross, the cheaper plan changes.
| Monthly use | RF01 | RTL1 | RT02 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 kWh | $0.272 | $0.264 | $0.267 |
| 500 kWh | $0.218 | $0.230 | $0.213 |
| 750 kWh | $0.200 | $0.219 | $0.195 |
| 1,000 kWh | $0.191 | $0.213 | $0.186 |
| 1,500 kWh | $0.182 | $0.207 | $0.177 |
| 2,000 kWh | $0.178 | $0.205 | $0.172 |
Compared with the California average
In August 2026, homes in California paid an average of 29.8¢ per kWh, and the average monthly bill was $234.85, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The state average mixes every utility and rate plan in California, so it isn’t the price on any SMUD plan.
| Plan | Effective price at 1,000 kWh | State average |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Rate (RF01) | 19.1¢/kWh | 29.8¢/kWh |
| Time-of-Day (Low Use) Rate (RTL1) | 21.3¢/kWh | 29.8¢/kWh |
| Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate (RT02) | 18.6¢/kWh | 29.8¢/kWh |
See the California average price and bill for the last 12 months and the trend over three years.
How the estimate works
- For each month of the current year, your monthly kWh is spread over the days and hours with the typical hourly pattern for your type of home. Weekdays and weekends have different patterns, and holidays use the weekend pattern.
- If you shift evening use, that share of each day’s use from 5 p.m.–9 p.m. moves evenly to midnight–6 a.m., and your total use stays the same.
- Each hour is matched to the plan’s time period for that month and day, priced at the plan’s rate, and added up. The fixed charge (a monthly amount, or a daily amount times the days in the month), the per-kWh adjustment, and any credit you qualify for are separate lines. Each line is rounded to the cent, and the bill is the sum of the lines.
- The annual estimate adds up 12 monthly bills at the rates in effect now. Every plan gets the same usage, so the differences come only from the rates.
- If a plan’s rates are being rechecked, for example after a scheduled rate change, the calculator shows its estimate at the last checked rates and stops ranking it until the check is done.