Lower your bill

If you would like to lower your bill, you may be eligible for a discount or energy efficiency program. Read more about the programs below. Peninsula Clean Energy customers are eligible for PG&E programs.

Special rate customers

As a Peninsula Clean Energy customer, you may be eligible for discount programs including the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program, Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) Program, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and Medical Baseline. Please note that special rate customers receive their discounts on the transmission and delivery portion of their electric bills, so customers who are already enrolled still maintain their discounts with Peninsula Clean Energy.

Qualified households receive deep discounts on their energy bills through the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program. CARE eligibility is based on public assistance program participation or based on the number of individuals in your household and total gross household income.

To learn more about CARE and how to apply, visit PG&E's webpage about CARE.

The Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) Program can provide a monthly discount on your electric bills. The program is designed for income-qualified households of three or more persons.  To learn more about FERA and how to apply, please visit PG&E’s webpage about FERA.

Medical Baseline is a financial assistance program for residential customers that have special energy needs due to qualifying medical conditions. Through the Medical Baseline Program, customers on any tiered rates (e.g., E-1, EM, or E-TOU-C) receive an additional allotment of energy every month at the lowest price available on their rate. To qualify, a California-licensed physician must certify that a full-time resident in your home has a qualifying medical condition. 

To learn more about Medical Baseline and how to apply, please visit PG&E’s webpage about Medical Baseline. 

LIHEAP provides a one-time per calendar year credit of up to $1,000 on utility bills including gas, electric, wood, and propane accounts. Residents who have their utilities included in rent can also apply. Emergency assistance and additional benefit amounts may be provided for households in danger of having their utilities disconnected (15-day or 48-hour shutoff notices). 

The Home Weatherization program provides energy conservation measures for renter and owner-occupied dwellings in an effort to reduce energy costs and improve health and safety. Weatherization services include an energy and safety audit and possible installation of windows, doors, furnace, water heater, attic and floor insulation, thermostat, carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, water conservation measures and more. 

These are programs offered through Central Coast Energy Services, a not-for-profit service provider for Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties. An application may be obtained by mail by calling 1-888-728-3637 or online at www.caliheapapply.com. 

Energy assistance

The Energy Savings Assistance Program offers free energy efficiency improvements such as installation of insulation, caulking and light bulbs, and replacement of appliances such as refrigerators, water heaters, and furnaces. Participants must live in a house, mobile home or apartment that is at least five years old and meet income guidelines. To learn more about the Energy Savings Assistance program, please visit PG&E’s ESAP website.

LIWP installs solar photovoltaics (PV), solar hot water heaters, and energy efficiency measures in eligible low‐income single family and multi‐family dwellings in disadvantaged communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy. To learn more about LIWP, please visit the LIWP website.

The REACH one-time program helps you pay for energy during a crisis. REACH provides an energy credit for up to $1000 based on the past due bill amount. To learn more about REACH and how to apply, please visit PG&E’s webpage about Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help.

LIHEAP provides a one-time per calendar year credit of up to $1,000 on utility bills including gas, electric, wood, and propane accounts. Residents who have their utilities included in rent can also apply. Emergency assistance and additional benefit amounts may be provided for households in danger of having their utilities disconnected (15-day or 48-hour shutoff notices). 

The Home Weatherization program provides energy conservation measures for renter and owner-occupied dwellings in an effort to reduce energy costs and improve health and safety. Weatherization services include an energy and safety audit and possible installation of windows, doors, furnace, water heater, attic and floor insulation, thermostat, carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, water conservation measures and more. 

These are programs offered through Central Coast Energy Services, a not-for-profit service provider for Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties. An application may be obtained by mail by calling 1-888-728-3637, downloaded at https://www.energyservices.org/index-afh.html, or online at www.caliheapapply.com. 

The HomeIntel service is available at no charge to residential customers of Peninsula Clean Energy and PG&E. Offered by Home Energy Analytics on behalf of PG&E, HomeIntel provides a secure, online analysis of your home energy use based on your smart meter data. Whether you own or rent your house or apartment, you can get a set of customized recommendations that usually includes many simple, low-or no-cost fixes, and an energy coach and regular email updates to help you carry out your savings plan.

Find your energy leaks & ways to save $100s/year or more. Previous programs saved 13% of energy on average per home. To learn more about HomeIntel, please visit the HomeIntel website.

The Arrearage Management Plan (AMP) is a payment plan to help qualifying customers reduce unpaid balances on their bills. Through making twelve on-time payments of your monthly charges, customers enrolled in AMP may receive up to $8,000 in unpaid balance forgiveness. 

To qualify, residential customers must be enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy Program (CARE) or the Family Electric Rate Assistance Program (FERA). Customers must also owe at least $500 on their gas and electric bill and be more than 90 days past due. To learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply, visit PG&E’s financial assistance webpage 

San Mateo County Office of Sustainability Energy Efficiency Programs

Visit your library and – just like a book – check out the new San Mateo County Check It Out! Home Energy and Water Saving Toolkit. It’s stocked with supplies and measuring devices that will help you lower your utility bills while saving precious resources.

Please visit the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability Energy Efficiency for more information.

Energy Efficiency Upgrades for Property Owners

The County of San Mateo is collaborating with the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) to offer rebates and assistance to homeowners and multi-family property owners for energy-efficient home improvements.

Through Energy Upgrade California® Home Upgrade in the Bay Area, single family homeowners can receive rebates for improvements. Call 866-878-6008 or submit a brief form on the Bay Area Energy Upgrade for more information.

Energy Upgrade California’s Bay Area Multifamily Building Enhancements offers cash rebates and no-cost energy consulting for multifamily property owners that undertake energy and water upgrades for their buildings. This program is open to multifamily buildings with five or more attached dwelling units in the Bay Area.

Please visit the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability Energy Efficiency for more information.

The San Mateo County Energy Watch program provides energy efficiency services and incentives to businesses, public agencies, schools, non-profit organizations, and lower-income residents. The program also assists local governments with greenhouse gas emission inventories and climate action planning and implementation. Through the program, customers are presented with a detailed retrofit report that recommends a list of energy efficiency upgrades such as improved lighting, occupancy and daylight sensors, higher efficiency water heaters, the anticipated energy savings, total cost of retrofit, and rebate information for energy efficient installations. The SMC Energy Watch program offers rebates that generally cover 30-100% of the total cost.

Please visit the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability Energy Efficiency website for more information.

To help finance energy upgrades, water conservation and more, homeowners and commercial property owners throughout the County can take advantage of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, an affordable, long-term financing option that is repaid on your property taxes over a time period up to 20 years. Property owners receive 100% financing of improvement costs and projects can be cash-flow positive from day one. No up-front cash investment is required. PACE financing can fund solar installation, water conservation, energy efficiency, and more.

Please visit the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability Energy Efficiency for more information.

Green Access Discount

Peninsula Clean Energy’s Green Access Program offers a 20% discount on monthly electric bills, on top of existing CARE or FERA discounts. This is part of a statewide program to help residents with their energy bills in communities that experience higher levels of environmental pollution.