SCE JACKS RATES

This article was published in the October 11, 2025 Issue.

Heads up Mono and Inyo counties. Your electricity bills could increase by 13% this month.

Southern California Edison (SCE), the electric company which serves the Eastern Sierra, just implemented their new rate structure. 

These new rates are based on the work the company is planning to do and how much it can charge its customers to cover that work. The increased rates help SCE maintain a reliable electric grid and make the system more resilient against wildfire, said Gabriela Ornelas, a spokesperson for SCE.

SCE followed the rate development process with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). These rates will be in place until 2028. SCE had previously worked under a rate structure set in 2021, which increased rates from the previous years by 8%.

Electricity rates can change from month to month, Ornelas explained. On average, the new basic rates are expected to increase residential bills by about 9.1%. 

But this month’s bills include costs outside of the new rate structure, such as previous wildfire mitigation.

“Rates also include separate costs for wildfire mitigation and vegetation management,” Ornelas said. “So that’s why these October bills are reflecting 13% [increase].”

Rates also depend on time of use, as there are times in the day which have higher electric demands than others.

“For customers who are able to shift their usage to non-peak hours, they could see savings through that rate plan,” Ornelas said. 

There are other changes to upcoming SCE customer bills. The California Climate credit, a state program applied automatically twice a year, will provide customers with a credit of $56 to their October bill. This credit applies for residential homes and small businesses, and is a part of the California cap and trade program that is an effort to mitigate green house gas emissions.

Another change is a state mandated $24 base service charge. This charge is not new, Ornelas assured.

“Essentially, those $24 are moving from one section of the bill to another section of the bill.”

For low-income customers who are on or qualify for federal or state discount plans, this base charge will be discounted. The discounts would range from $6-12.

So far, Ornelas and SCE are unsure what customer reactions will be to the increase in rates.

Editor’s note: we at The Sheet are pretty confident as to what those reactions will be.

“We know it’s a challenge for our customers to see changes on their bill, especially as they manage other bills in their life, and so we are sensitive to the fact that this will result in an increase,” Ornelas said. 

“We do want our customers to know that we are working hard to maintain a reliable and resilient electric grid.”