How the utility, rate zone and region are found

The same home and the same usage give a different bill in a different zone, region or city. That’s why Cali-Graf finds these details for every address — and shows them so you can check.

The utility

Cali-Graf places the home on the utilities’ official service-area maps from the California Energy Commission and checks the ZIP code and city. Where a ZIP code is split between LADWP and SCE, the city decides: a neighborhood of Los Angeles is LADWP, a separate city such as Santa Monica or Culver City is SCE.

What it finds for LADWP

LADWP homes get a rate zone — Zone 1 or Zone 2 — from LADWP’s list of ZIP codes. The zone sets how many kWh in each billing period are charged at the lower tier prices. The line under the address shows, for example, LADWP · Zone 1. The rate is LADWP’s standard residential rate; there’s nothing to choose.

What it finds for SCE

• Baseline region. SCE gives each home a daily baseline allowance that depends on its climate region. Cali-Graf takes the region from the city, for example Baseline region 9.
• Who supplies the power. Many cities buy electricity from Clean Power Alliance (CPA) and SCE only delivers it. For those cities the line shows CPA with the city’s default CPA plan, and the bills use CPA’s prices; elsewhere it shows SCE generation.
• Rate plan and CARE. These aren’t in the address — you pick them in Usage. See Choose the customer’s SCE rate plan and CARE.

City utility tax

Some cities add a utility users tax to electricity. Cali-Graf takes the tax rate from the city. The bills in the result are shown without it, and the tax is listed under them separately — today and with solar.

If something looks wrong

The customer’s bill is always right. If the utility or the zone differs from the bill, first check that the home was found in the right place — see Make sure the right house is found. The utility can’t be changed by hand yet.