Solar-Aligned Electricity Rates: Clean Power Alliance Makes Daytime Generation Free

Clean Power Alliance is testing a new approach to electricity pricing with its two-year TOU-SMART pilot in Southern California. More than 4,000 participating households will receive a $0-per-kilowatt-hour CPA generation rate between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., when solar power is abundant. Developed with input from UCLA researchers, the program encourages households to move activities such as EV charging, laundry, pool pumping, and heating or cooling into daytime hours. Bill protection prevents participants from paying more because of the pilot.

The pricing model could help electricity providers better align consumer demand with periods of high renewable generation. For CPA, data on household behavior can inform future rate structures, customer communications, and energy programs. Customers could lower generation costs, while shifting demand toward solar-rich hours could support more flexible use of California’s growing renewable electricity supply.

Image Credit: Clean Power Alliance