Frequently Asked Questions for EcoChoice® and EcoShare℠
EcoChoice gives you the ability to reduce your carbon footprint and purchase clean, renewable energy for your home or business. You can now support the environment and promote the growth of renewable energy in our region with no upfront installation costs.
When you enroll, SDG&E buys renewable energy on your behalf from large, utility-scale generating facilities built specifically for EcoChoice. You can enroll from 50% to 100% of your electricity usage in the program. The more renewable energy you buy the more renewable generation we can build.
New renewable energy facilities take time to build, and a temporary pool of solar facilities (Interim Pool) will be used to serve the program until new renewable energy generating facilities come online.
EcoShare brings community renewables to SDG&E customers.
Through EcoShare you work directly with third-party renewable energy developers to purchase the rights to a portion of the energy generated from a new renewable energy facility. You enter into a private agreement with the developer, known as a Customer-Developer Agreement (CDA), where the electricity price and agreement terms are defined. Participating developers also enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with us, and are paid only for energy generated in excess of what customers have purchased.
Enrolling into the EcoChoice program is only one click away. Enroll now
Enrolling in EcoShare is handled through your renewable energy developer. SDG&E’s terms and conditions, as well as the value of the bill credit received from us, are outlined in the EcoShare tariff. A minimum one year agreement is required and termination fees may apply.
Details on enrollment and availability in the EcoShare program are currently under development. Please contact us for additional information.
If you purchase electricity from us, you are eligible to participate with very limited exclusions. You can’t participate in EcoChoice and EcoShare if you are currently enrolled in a distributed generation tariff (e.g. NEM, NEM-V, RES-BCT) or pilot rate program, or if you participate in Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) or Direct Access (DA).
Customers on all other rates, including electric vehicle rates like EV-TOU, are eligible to participate. Please contact [email protected] with questions regarding eligibility.
EcoChoice and EcoShare allow you to purchase renewable energy without installing solar panels at your home or business. There are no upfront costs, a one-year commitment and you choose your subscription amount. For businesses trying to meet sustainability or climate action goals, EcoChoice can help.
Customers participating in EcoChoice will begin purchasing renewable energy immediately from our existing facilities while new renewable energy generating facilities are built specifically for the program. SDG&E has already procured a local resource called Midway to support EcoChoice, and another facility called Wister is currently under development and is expected to be online in early 2022.
Customers participating in EcoShare will purchase renewable energy when the facility they select is constructed and becomes operational.
For a complete listing of program prices, terms, and conditions, please review the EcoChoice and EcoShare tariffs:
You can un-enroll from the program at any time with no penalty. If you terminate your participation you may not re-enroll for the same rate for a one-year period beginning on your withdrawal date.
EcoShare participants should review their Customer-Developer Agreement for additional enrollment terms.
You can terminate your enrollment in EcoChoice at any given time without receiving a termination fee. If you terminate your participation in EcoChoice, you may not re-enroll in the program for a one-year period beginning on your withdrawal date. The cancellation will become effective on your next closed bill period after the termination request is processed.
EcoShare participants should review their Customer-Developer Agreement for additional cancellation terms.
EcoChoice Customers - Yes, you may elect to change your subscription percentage once during the first 60 days of enrollment. After the 60-day period has expired, you may not change your subscription until you have been enrolled in the program for a minimum of 12 months. After the one year participation term has expired, you may change your renewable energy subscription no more than once every 12 months.
EcoShare Customers - Please review your Customer-Developer Agreement for requirements pertaining to changes in participation.
Solar credits and charges on your SDG&E bill are based on current California Public Utility Commission approved tariffs. Prices subject to change in accordance with annual rate updates, as well as potential off-cycle updates as approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
EcoShare participants should review their Customer-Developer Agreement for additional terms that cause the cost of renewable energy to change over time.
Yes. By order of the California Public Utilities Commission, all development costs for EcoChoice and EcoShare must be recovered from enrolled customers only. Therefore, in an effort to keep costs as low as possible for participants, most existing functionality in My Account is not available for customers enrolled in EcoChoice and EcoShare. This includes:
- Bill to Date
- Bill Forecast
- Rate Comparison
- Goals and Alerts
- Weekly Alert Email
Additionally, enrolled customers will receive an all text version of the Bill Ready Notification Email.
By enrolling in EcoChoice or EcoShare, you are allocating your home or business's energy use to renewable resources. Although the renewable electrons can’t be delivered to a specific location, we'll purchase an amount of renewable energy equivalent to your monthly subscription on your behalf. In this way, your participation contributes directly to the growth of renewable energy in our region. SDG&E retires the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) on behalf of customers. A separate filing is provided to the California Public Utilities Commission on behalf of all enrolled customers.
Yes, enrollment is fully transferable to your new location, provided that the new location is within our service territory. As part of your transfer of service (moving to a new location), you should let us know when and where the existing enrollment should be transferred. Eligibility of the new location will be determined before transfer of the rate is completed.
EcoShare participants should review their Customer-Developer Agreement for additional requirements regarding transfer of service.
EcoChoice Customers - You will be billed on your monthly SDG&E electricity bill. EcoChoice charges will be listed as separate line items and are in addition to your regular electricity charges.
EcoShare Customers - You will receive a net credit on your monthly SDG&E electricity bill proportional to the amount of renewable energy purchased through EcoShare. Due to the transfer of information between SDG&E and your developer, this credit will be delayed one billing cycle (i.e. you will receive your credit for January’s generation on your February bill).
You will be billed separately from the renewable energy developer for your subscribed portion of the renewable generating facility according to the terms of your Customer-Developer Agreement.
Your existing rate will determine if you are a small commercial business customer or large commercial business customer.
For the EcoChoice program, the following rate schedules are considered small commercial:
- Schedule TOU-A
- Schedule A-TOU
- Schedule A
- Schedule UM
- Schedule A-TC
If you're a non-residential customer and your rate is not listed above, you're considered large commercial for the EcoChoice program. For more information on rate schedules, please see the Rates and Regulations page.
This is an agreement between EcoShare project developers and subscribing customers outlining the energy price and subscription terms related to purchasing electricity produced by the renewable generating facility.
A Customer-Developer Agreement applies to EcoShare participants only.
This is an agreement between EcoShare project developers and subscribing customers outlining the energy price and subscription terms related to purchasing electricity produced by the renewable generating facility.
A Customer-Developer Agreement applies to EcoShare participants only.
If you are building a facility between 0.5 MW and 20 MW and would like to participate in EcoShare, please visit the EcoShare for Developers page.
If you are interested in selling electricity from your renewable energy project to us without participating in EcoShare, please visit the Renewables page.
Green-e® Energy is North America’s leading voluntary certification program for renewable energy. Since 1997, Green-e® Energy has certified renewable energy that meets environmental and consumer protection standards that it developed in conjunction with leading environmental, energy and policy organizations. Green-e Energy requires that sellers of certified renewable energy disclose clear and useful information to potential customers, allowing consumers to make informed choices.
Green-e® for Businesses and Products is committed to helping Green-e® Energy customers tell their sustainability stories. For over a decade, Green-e has been working with leading companies and products that use renewable energy and equipping them with recognition, promotional, and communication tools to market their sustainability efforts to customers and stakeholders. Green-e currently certifies companies, facilities, products, electric vehicles, printing and paper supply, and events. For more information on Green-e’s business and marketing solutions e-mail [email protected] or call 415-561-2100.
Unfortunately, EcoChoice customers are not currently able to view the cost and savings features offered in Compare Pricing Plans. You are able to see your pricing plan options and plan details, however, to get costs, please call us at 1-800-411-7343.