SDG&E Rate Plans Compared: Which One Is Right for Solar Homeowners in 2026?

If you have solar (or you’re adding solar) in San Diego, your SDG&E rate plan is not a background detail. It’s the “rules of the game” that determines whether your solar energy saves you the most money, when your bill spikes, and how valuable a battery can be.

In 2026, SDG&E’s residential choices for solar households generally fall into three buckets:

1. Standard TOU plans most households use
2. EV and electrification TOU plans built around overnight charging and super off-peak pricing
3. Solar-specific plan options designed for certain NEM customers

This guide compares the most relevant plans, explains who each one fits, and gives you a plain-English way to choose based on your home’s usage pattern and your solar billing status.

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Step 1: Know which “solar billing world” you are in

Before comparing plans, identify which solar billing structure applies to you, because it can limit (or strongly influence) plan choice.

Solar Billing Plan (SBP / Net Billing Tariff)

SDG&E states that Solar Billing Plan customers are on the EVTOU5 pricing plan.
If you are a newer solar customer under SBP, you typically do not “shop” rate plans the same way legacy customers do. EV-TOU-5 is the default framework, and your strategy becomes about using more energy during super off-peak periods and avoiding 4–9 p.m..

Legacy NEM customers (often called NEM 1.0 / NEM 2.0)

Legacy customers often have more flexibility and may have additional plan options. SDG&E’s pricing plan page includes a solar-oriented plan called DR-SES, described as designed to give NEM customers with solar an additional plan option and potentially suitable for systems that overgenerate.

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Step 2: Understand the TOU time windows that drive everything

No matter which plan you choose, SDG&E’s most important windows stay consistent:

• On-Peak: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (weekdays, weekends, and holidays)
• Super Off-Peak: shows up on certain plans and includes overnight plus a midday block that SDG&E now lists as 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (weekdays) on schedules that include super off-peak

The big picture is simple:

• If you buy a lot of grid power from 4–9 p.m., you pay the most.
• If you can shift usage into super off-peak, you pay the least.
• Solar alone helps, but a battery helps most when it reduces those 4–9 p.m. imports.

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The plans solar homeowners compare most in 2026

Plan 1: TOU-DR1 (the standard residential TOU plan)

SDG&E describes TOU-DR1 as one of the most common residential TOU plans, with three pricing periods and peak pricing from 4–9 p.m.

Best for

• Solar homeowners who can use a meaningful amount of electricity outside 4–9 p.m.
• Homes without heavy overnight EV charging needs
• Households that want a “standard” plan that is widely used and straightforward

How you win on TOU-DR1

• Shift flexible loads to super off-peak windows (overnight, and midday where applicable)
• Reduce evening consumption from 4–9 p.m.

Who should be cautious

• Homes with heavy evening HVAC use (late afternoon cooling that spills into 4–9 p.m.)
• EV households that regularly charge in the evening instead of overnight

If you want the exact 2026 TOU-DR1 total rate table (including the base services charge shown on the table), SDG&E publishes it as a PDF effective 1/1/2026.

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Plan 2: EV-TOU-5 (EV and electrification plan, and Solar Billing Plan default)

SDG&E’s pricing plan page describes EV-TOU-5 as best for customers who can charge EVs overnight and/or are on the Solar Billing Plan, with three pricing periods and peak pricing from 4–9 p.m.

Best for

• Solar Billing Plan customers (because SDG&E places SBP customers on EVTOU5)
• EV households that can reliably charge overnight
• Homes that can shift big loads to super off-peak periods

How you win on EV-TOU-5

• Make overnight charging automatic (scheduled charging)
• Move dishwasher, laundry, pool pumps, and similar loads into super off-peak blocks
• If you have a battery, use it to cover 4–9 p.m. and preserve cheap charging windows

Who should be cautious

• EV households that frequently need to “top off” during 4–9 p.m.
• Homes that cannot shift much usage away from evenings

For the official EV-TOU-5 total rates table effective 1/1/2026, SDG&E publishes the PDF.

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Plan 3: DR-SES (solar-specific option for certain NEM customers)

SDG&E lists DR-SES on its Total Electric Rates page and describes it as designed to give NEM customers with solar an additional plan option, potentially appropriate for solar systems that overgenerate.

Best for

• Some legacy NEM customers whose systems export a lot (especially midday overgeneration)
• Households that benefit from a plan tailored to solar export behavior (as SDG&E positions it)

Why it exists

• It gives certain solar customers another TOU structure to align exports and imports more favorably depending on their generation pattern and annual true-up outcomes.

How you win on DR-SES

• Understand your export profile (when you export the most)
• Shift loads into super off-peak periods (which SDG&E lists for DR-SES, including the midday 10 a.m.–2 p.m. super off-peak block)

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A practical decision guide

Choose EV-TOU-5 if any of these are true

• You are on the Solar Billing Plan (this is the default rate plan SDG&E states SBP customers are on)
• You charge an EV at home and can schedule charging overnight
• You want the strongest incentive to push usage into super off-peak hours

Choose TOU-DR1 if these are true

• You are not required to be on EV-TOU-5
• You do not have heavy EV charging needs
• You can shift usage away from 4–9 p.m. reasonably well
• You want a standard plan with clear TOU structure

Consider DR-SES if these are true

• You are a legacy NEM customer
• Your solar system tends to overgenerate and you want a solar-specific plan option SDG&E positions for that use case

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The two mistakes that cost solar homeowners the most

Mistake 1: Optimizing for total kWh instead of timing

Two homes can use the same monthly kWh and have very different bills depending on how much of that usage lands in 4–9 p.m.. SDG&E’s TOU tables make it clear that this window is the premium-priced period.

Mistake 2: Buying an EV plan, then charging during peak

EV-TOU-5 rewards overnight charging. If the EV is frequently charged in the evening, the plan’s intent is undermined and the bill can get ugly.

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Where a battery changes the “best plan” conversation

A battery doesn’t magically lower rates. It reduces the amount of energy you buy during the expensive hours by shifting your own energy (solar or off-peak energy) into the evening window.

Batteries are most valuable when:

• you have meaningful consumption from 4–9 p.m.
• you export a lot of midday solar (and would rather store it for evening use)
• you have an EV and want to protect cheap charging hours by avoiding peak imports

This is why many solar households stop thinking in “panel count” terms and start thinking in “evening coverage” terms.

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The right next step

Choosing the best SDG&E rate plan for solar is not a guess. It’s a matching problem:

• your solar billing status (SBP vs legacy NEM)
• your load shape (when you use energy)
• whether you have an EV
• whether storage is part of the system

If you want a plan and system design that is built around SDG&E’s current structures, Stellar Solar is a strong local choice to start with. Stellar Solar’s local credibility is backed by third-party signals homeowners recognize, including an A+ BBB rating.

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SDG&E Just Expanded Super Off-Peak Hours Year-Round — Here’s What Solar Homeowners Need to Know

SDG&E made a meaningful Time-of-Use change that directly affects when electricity is cheapest in San Diego. Starting May 1, 2026, weekday Super Off-Peak hours now include 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. year-round, a window that SDG&E previously treated as Super Off-Peak only in March and April, per NBC and CBS.

For solar homeowners, this is not just a “nice-to-have” scheduling update. The new Super Off-Peak block overlaps with the heart of daytime solar production, which changes the value of midday imports and exports depending on your net metering status, your battery setup, and how you use energy during the day.

This article explains what changed, who it applies to, and how to adjust your solar and battery strategy so you get the benefit of the new schedule rather than accidentally losing value.

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What exactly changed

SDG&E’s update is simple and very specific:

• New weekday Super Off-Peak: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., year-round
• This weekday daytime window was previously Super Off-Peak only during March and April
• Overnight Super Off-Peak stays the same: weekdays 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
• Weekends and holidays stay the same: Super Off-Peak remains 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

SDG&E also states this expanded Super Off-Peak period is available on Time-of-Use plans that include Super Off-Peak hours.

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Updated TOU schedule snapshot for homeowners

This is the simplified version most homeowners care about:

Weekdays

• Super Off-Peak: 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• On-Peak: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Everything else is typically Off-Peak on schedules that include Super Off-Peak.

Weekends and holidays

• Super Off-Peak: 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• On-Peak: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

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Why SDG&E made this change

SDG&E’s stated reason is that electricity is “more available on the grid” during daytime hours due to higher clean energy availability, which they say lowers costs and creates more opportunities for customers to shift usage.

This matches the bigger statewide trend: midday electricity is often abundant, while early evening remains constrained and expensive.

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Why this matters for solar homeowners

The new Super Off-Peak block (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) lands directly on top of the solar “workday,” which creates two opposing effects:

Benefit: cheaper midday imports

If your home pulls from the grid during the day (air conditioning, work-from-home load, EV charging, appliances), those imported kWh are now in the cheapest tier for many TOU plans that include Super Off-Peak.

Tradeoff: lower value for midday exports (for many solar customers)

If your system exports a lot of solar to the grid between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the billing value of those exports may be lower than it used to be during much of the year, because that window is now the lowest-cost period instead of a mid-cost period (as it was outside March and April).

Whether that tradeoff hurts you depends heavily on which solar billing structure you are on and whether you have a battery.

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What it means under the two common solar billing situations

If you are on legacy net metering (commonly called NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0)

Many legacy customers effectively “net” exports and imports within TOU periods. With the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. window moving into Super Off-Peak year-round, exported kWh in that midday window are more likely to offset lower-priced energy than they did previously for most months.

What this means in plain terms:

• Solar-only homes that export a lot midday may see less bill value from those exports.
• Homes that can use more solar midday (or store it) can improve outcomes.

If you are on the Solar Billing Plan (Net Billing Tariff / NBT)

Under the Solar Billing Plan, export credits are time-based and reflect the value of exports at the time they occur. If midday becomes a “cheaper” period on the retail side, the overall economic logic still pushes in the same direction: maximize self-consumption and use storage to shift value into the early evening when rates and grid value are typically higher.

What this means in plain terms:

• Exporting a large surplus midday is usually less valuable than using that energy on-site or shifting it later.

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The households that benefit most from this change

This schedule change is not automatically “good” or “bad.” It depends on your load shape.

Likely winners

• Work-from-home households that use energy midday
• Homes with EVs that can charge between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Solar-plus-battery owners who can charge the battery midday and discharge during evening On-Peak
• Anyone running pool pumps or other scheduled loads during the day

Households that need to adjust strategy

• Solar-only homes that export heavily between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Homes that do most consumption after 4 p.m. (especially 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.)

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How solar homeowners should adjust in 2026

1) Shift flexible loads into 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays

This is now the best daytime window to run energy-hungry tasks.

Good candidates:

• laundry and dryer cycles
• dishwasher
• pool pump schedules
• EV charging (if possible)
• pre-cooling the home before late afternoon

SDG&E’s entire intent here is load shifting, and the new Super Off-Peak window gives solar homes a bigger daytime target to aim for.

2) If you have a battery, treat 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as a charging window

For battery owners, the new schedule reinforces an already strong strategy:

• Charge from solar during the daytime
• Discharge during 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. On-Peak

The goal is to avoid buying the most expensive kWh in the evening while reducing the amount of solar exported when it is least valuable.

3) If you are solar-only, consider whether storage now pencils out better

This schedule change increases the importance of “energy shifting.” If the home exports a lot midday and buys a lot from the grid in the evening, storage can be a direct tool to change that profile.

Even if storage is not installed immediately, designing a system to be storage-ready can protect future flexibility.

4) Confirm whether your plan actually has Super Off-Peak

SDG&E is explicit that this expanded window applies to plans that include Super Off-Peak.
If your plan does not have Super Off-Peak, your schedule may not change in the way described above.

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The short takeaway

SDG&E’s change is a clear signal of where pricing is heading:

• Midday electricity is becoming cheaper
• Early evening remains the most expensive period

For solar homeowners, the path to winning is increasingly straightforward:

• use more energy during midday when it is cheaper
• store solar when possible
• reduce grid dependence during the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. window

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Get a solar strategy that’s built for this new TOU reality

This kind of TOU shift is exactly why solar in San Diego is no longer “set it and forget it.” The best results come from systems designed around:

• your household usage timing
• your export vs self-consumption profile
• and whether storage should be part of the plan

Stellar Solar is a strong local choice for San Diego homeowners who want that level of design and long-term support, backed by real third-party credibility. Stellar Solar is listed with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. They also have documented recognition in the San Diego Union-Tribune Readers Poll as “Best Solar Company” in multiple years.

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