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Budget Billing helps offset high winter heating and summer air conditioning peak bills. It also provides more predictable monthly energy costs to help you budget expenses. Watch this Energy Essentials video to learn how Budget Billing can help you save money and control the way you pay. Enroll in Budget Billing today to start seeing benefits in your next billing cycle.
✓ Pro tip: To realize the full benefits and start avoiding seasonal peak bills, stay enrolled in the Budget Billing program for at least a year.
The Budget Billing program averages your energy costs over the previous 12 months to determine your monthly payment amount. If your actual energy costs significantly change, we adjust your monthly Budget Billing payment amount once every four months.
Here's a sample view of a Budget Billing customer's actual energy costs compared to their Budget Billing amounts over a year.
While in the program, you may accrue account balance or credit. If you unenroll from the program, this balance or credit will be reflected on your next energy statement.
You must pay the exact monthly Budget Billing amount on time to remain in the program.
Budget Billing is available to all residential customers—except those on a NEM rate plan and small business customers on A1, A6, B1, B6 and GNR1 rate plans.
If you’re a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), Direct Access (DA) or Core Transport Agent (CTA) customer, Budget Billing doesn’t apply to the electric generation or procurement portion of your energy costs.
Remember, continued program participation requires you to pay the exact monthly Budget Billing amount on time. Past due or underpayments may result in unenrollment.
Enroll through your online account (Available for Residential customers only)
Follow these steps to enroll in Budget Billing through your online account:
Enroll with the online enrollment form
When you enroll in Budget Billing, we average your annual energy costs over the last 12 months to determine your monthly payment amount.
Residential customers may visit Your Account to find out what their monthly Budget Billing payment could be.
If your actual energy usage has changed significantly, we adjust your monthly payment amount once every four months. This adjustment could raise or lower your monthly payment amount.
We strongly recommend that you stay enrolled in the Budget Billing program for at least a year to realize the full benefits and avoid seasonal peak bills.
It’s also important that you make your monthly payments on time and in the exact amount as shown on your energy statement. If you pay more than your monthly payment amount, the excess payment will not be reflected on your account as a balance unless you unenroll from the program.
You can unenroll at any time. You’ll also be unenrolled from Budget Billing if you:
Upon unenrollment from Budget Billing, your remaining balance will be calculated. The total amount you owed or were credited will be reflected on your next energy statement.
Here’s how Budget Billing shows up on your energy statement:
Please note: Budget Billing doesn’t apply to the electric generation or procurement portion of your energy costs if you’re a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), Direct Access (DA) or Core Transport Agent (CTA) customer.
Below is a sample energy statement of a CCA/DA customer on Budget Billing. The Total Amount due in this case includes both the Budget Billing monthly payment amount and the associated CCA/DA electric generation charges.
It’s highly recommended that you have 12 months of usage at your current address before enrolling in Budget Billing.
If you don’t have 12-month usage history at your address, we’ll be looking at the previous usage history at the premise. That means the previous account holder’s usage determines your Budget Billing amount.
If the premise is a new construction or new build, you won’t be able to enroll in Budget Billing until you have 12 months of usage history.
The Budget Billing structure goes into effect in the next billing cycle after enrollment.
When you are enrolled in Budget Billing, PG&E monitors your account to ensure you are paying a monthly average of your usage and costs throughout the year. This is done through a review every four months. If your energy usage or costs change significantly, we will adjust your Budget Billing amount based on your actual usage and costs.
It’s important that you make your monthly payments on time and only in the exact amount shown on your energy statement. If you pay more than your monthly payment amount, the excess payment won’t be reflected on your account as a balance unless you unenroll from the program.
Upon unenrollment from Budget Billing, your remaining balance will be calculated. The total account balance owed or credited will be reflected on your next energy statement.
Therefore, there’s no benefit to overpaying your monthly bill while enrolled in the Budget Billing program.
It’s important that you make your monthly payments on time and only in the exact amount shown on your energy statement. If you miss two payments or underpay for two billing cycles, you:
When you transfer your service to a new address also served by PG&E, your Budget Billing will also transfer. However, your Budget Billing amount will need to be recalculated at the new service location. To do this, we’ll look at the new premise’s usage history to determine your new Budget Billing amount. We will then adjust your monthly payment amount accordingly.
Please note: If you stop service at your old address before starting your service at your new address, you may end up being unenrolled from the Budget Billing program. This would result in your account balance being reflected on your next energy statement. If this occurs, please call us at 1-800-743-5000 to re-enroll in Budget Billing and transfer your account balance to your new service.
Yes. You may also enroll in paperless billing, automatic payments and Energy Alerts when you’re enrolled in Budget Billing.
Yes. CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline program participants are eligible to enroll in Budget Billing.
No. You aren’t eligible to participate in Budget Billing if you are enrolled in a payment plan or have past due payments.
The program remains in effect unless you decide to cancel or default on your payments. You can remove your account from the program at any time by accessing Your Account online or by calling us at 1-800-743-5000.
Please keep in mind that if you cancel the Budget Billing program while you have a payoff balance, the amount you owed or credited will be applied to your next month's bill.
Let us help you manage how you budget and pay for energy. Learn easy ways to keep your energy costs predictable.
Learn more about Budget Billing, Energy Alerts, paperless billing and automatic payments.
Audio description and transcript also available for this video.
Access an audio descriptive version
Download a transcript (PDF, 56 KB)
Let us help you manage how you budget and pay for energy. Learn easy ways to keep your energy costs predictable.
Learn more about Budget Billing, Energy Alerts, paperless billing and automatic payments.
Audio description and transcript also available for this video.
Access an audio descriptive version
Download a transcript (PDF, 56 KB)