Summer is about to get a little pricier in Sacramento, at least if you like your AC blasting during dinnertime. SMUD's summer time-of-day pricing kicks in on June 1, and customers can expect noticeably higher electricity costs during weekday evening peak hours. The seasonal schedule packs higher per-kilowatt-hour charges into a tight evening window, so everyday habits like cooling, cooking and EV charging between 5 and 8 p.m. could nudge bills higher than in spring. Households that push more of that usage outside the peak period can dodge most of the extra cost.
Under SMUD's 2026 residential schedule, the weekday summer peak period from 5 to 8 p.m. is set at $0.3765 per kilowatt-hour for the June 1 through Sept. 30 season, while mid-peak and off-peak prices are listed at $0.2139 and $0.1550 per kWh, according to SMUD. The Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) rate is SMUD's standard residential structure for customers with smart meters, so most households will see these summer bands applied automatically.
What It Could Mean For Your Bill
The new summer bands mean that the very same kilowatt-hours will cost more if you use them on weekday evenings instead of other times of day. On top of that, SMUD has already approved modest, scheduled increases that will affect overall bills. The Sacramento Bee reported that the utility's board signed off on 3% rate increases for 2026 and 2027 and noted that SMUD's average residential bills are still lower than those of many other California utilities, even with the summer pricing in play. For many households, simply shifting when appliances run may soften the blow faster than investing in new equipment.
How To Avoid Paying More
SMUD is urging customers to move major electricity use out of weekday evenings and is offering tools and programs to help, as reported by ABC10. The utility has also raised its Solar and Storage export compensation rate to 9.6 cents per kWh effective June 1, a change SMUD says will make solar-plus-storage setups more valuable when households send stored energy into those evening peaks. In a SMUD press release, the updated Solar and Storage Rate is framed as part of the utility's broader push toward a zero-carbon grid.
Practical Steps To Trim Your Bill
If you want to keep your bill in check without turning your home into a sauna, timing is your friend. Run dishwashers and laundry in the morning or late at night, pre-cool your home before the 5 to 8 p.m. window, and set EV chargers to kick on during overnight hours. Enrolling in demand-response or smart-thermostat programs, pairing rooftop solar with a battery or using off-peak EV charging timers can also cut how much of your usage lands in the highest-priced hours. Small shifts in routine now can stack up to noticeable savings over the course of the summer.
Since seasonal pricing will be automatic for most SMUD customers starting June 1, it is worth reviewing your billing plan and making a few quick adjustments this week to sidestep higher evening costs. For official charts, tools and program details, SMUD posts rate guides and customer resources on its website.
