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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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
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.
from Stellar Solar https://ift.tt/tejCUI4
