You’ll get $81 off your SDG&E electric bill in October

San Diego Gas & Electric customers will catch a break on their October bills.

A discount of $81.38 will be applied to the electricity portion of their monthly statements. The reduction is related to the California Climate Credit that is implemented semi-annually to customers of all investor-owned utilities in the state, including SDG&E.

The climate credit is funded through the state’s cap-and-trade program that requires power plants, natural gas providers and large industries that emit greenhouse gases to buy permits on the carbon pollution they produce.

Billing cycles vary, so each individual SDG&E customer will not see the credit on their statements at the same time in October. Customers don’t need to apply to receive the credits; they appear automatically.

“For those facing financial challenges, we encourage you to reach out — our teams are here to help connect you with assistance programs that are designed to meet your specific needs,” said Dana Golan, Chief Customer Officer for SDG&E.

Customers of the two community choice energy programs in the San Diego area — San Diego Community Power and the Clean Energy Alliance — receive the discounts, too.

The climate credits are distributed twice a year — in April and then in October. The dollar amounts vary each year, depending on how much revenue the cap and trade program generates.

The April climate credit includes a discount on customers’ natural gas bill as well as their electricity bills. But the October credit consists of a discount on electricity bills only.

The credits are administered by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The California Legislature recently passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1207, which extends the cap-and-trade program for the next 20 years. AB 1207 renames the initiative as the “Cap-and-Invest Program.”