Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861 · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Who runs the utilities in California?

79%of California homes are served by investor-owned utilities

California has 14,126,109 residential customers, EIA-861 2024 sales file (99% of EIA's count). Investor-owned 78.6%. Municipal 14.7%. Political subdivision 6.6%. Cooperative 0.0%. California ranks 24th of 51 states, investor-owned.

California homes by utility type

California: customers by type, %

  1. 78.6Investor-owned
  2. 14.7Municipal
  3. 0.0Cooperative
  4. 6.6Political subdivision
California customers and prices by type
California typeUtilitiesCustomersSharePrice ¢/kWhGap ¢ (%)kWh/moNonmetro
Investor-owned511,109,73978.6%35.13not shown49825%
Municipal352,083,34714.7%22.96-12.18 (-35%)50234%
Cooperative32,7970.0%not shownnot shown991100%
Political subdivision24930,2266.6%18.24-16.89 (-48%)7973%
State and federal40nonenonenot shownnoneno county data

In California, 5,384,209 customers (38%) are energy-only accounts with a competitive supplier.

California prices by utility type

municipal utilities average 23.0 cents, 12.2 cents (35%) below investor-owned at 35.1; political-subdivision utilities average 18.2 cents, 16.9 cents (48%) below investor-owned at 35.1.

cents per kWh, average residential price by utility type, 2024

  • Investor-owned35.13
  • Municipal22.96
  • Political subdivision18.24
  • California bundled average29.53

California gaps mix cost and customer mix; method.

California: which utilities set the averages

Investor-owned at 35.1 cents and political-subdivision utilities at 18.2 are the widest pair in California, 16.9 cents (93%).

Investor-owned: Southern California Edison Co holds 59% of priced customers at 32.4 cents, group average 35.1. Among 6 with 5,000+ customers, PacifiCorp charges 20.6 and San Diego Gas & Electric Co 43.6, 23.0 cents apart.

Municipal: Los Angeles Department of Water & Power holds 68% of priced customers at 23.8 cents, group average 23.0. Among 15 with 5,000+ customers, City of Santa Clara charges 16.9 and City of Moreno Valley 39.9, 23.0 cents apart.

Political subdivision: Sacramento Municipal Util Dist holds 64% of priced customers at 17.9 cents, group average 18.2. Among 5 with 5,000+ customers, Turlock Irrigation District charges 16.3 and Merced Irrigation District 24.3, 7.9 cents apart.

California territory, rural or urban

California has 58 counties, 36% of them nonmetro in USDA's 2023 codes. Customer-weighted: investor-owned territory is 25% nonmetro; municipal territory is 34% nonmetro; political-subdivision territory is 3% nonmetro.

California: largest utilities

California utilities by customers
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.Investor-owned5,047,46139.6250036%
Southern California Edison CoInvestor-owned4,594,41532.4350619%
Los Angeles Department of Water & PowerMunicipal1,410,19123.8448550%
San Diego Gas & Electric CoInvestor-owned1,364,36143.633650%
Sacramento Municipal Util DistPolitical subdivision592,55717.877020%
Imperial Irrigation DistrictPolitical subdivision142,07817.911,1590%
City of AnaheimMunicipal105,83917.114670%
Modesto Irrigation DistrictPolitical subdivision103,65021.788080%
City of RiversideMunicipal100,45020.206370%
Turlock Irrigation DistrictPolitical subdivision80,57516.3486233%
City of GlendaleMunicipal77,56333.814110%
City of RosevilleMunicipal63,05218.667200%
City of PasadenaMunicipal58,55125.984760%
City of Santa ClaraMunicipal50,94916.884250%
City of Burbank Water and PowerMunicipal46,15719.254670%
Liberty UtilitiesInvestor-owned43,90225.9255771%
City of ReddingMunicipal38,17017.858490%
PacifiCorpInvestor-owned36,27320.6485875%
Alameda Municipal PowerMunicipal33,17422.983510%
City of Palo AltoMunicipal26,24920.675010%
City of LodiMunicipal23,75122.476090%
Bear Valley Electric ServiceInvestor-owned23,32730.673100%
City of ColtonMunicipal17,47224.855370%
City of AzusaMunicipal15,59919.084760%
Merced Irrigation DistrictPolitical subdivision11,36624.256420%
City of Moreno ValleyMunicipal7,93639.874860%
City of Shasta LakeMunicipal4,26819.278300%
Surprise Valley ElectrificationCooperative2,78513.14992100%
City & County of San FranciscoMunicipal2,61824.051,3520%
City of CoronaMunicipal1,28515.505370%

Download all 59 California utilities as CSV

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California next to its neighbors

California: municipal -35%, cooperative not shown against investor-owned. Gaps are within each state.

California neighbors
StateInvestor-ownedMunicipalCooperativeMuni gapCoop gap
California79%15%0%-35%not shown
Arizona57%0%6%not shown-20%
Nevada96%1%3%not shown-6%
Oregon77%8%9%-32%-33%

More

Similar investor-owned share: Kansas 80%, Virginia 80%, New Mexico 78%, Indiana 78%

Sources

California: EIA-861 (2024), USDA RUCC (2023); retrieval dates, checksums.

Questions

Which utility type serves most California homes?

Investor-owned utilities, 78.6% of 14,126,109 customers.

Do California co-ops or municipal utilities charge less?

Municipal utilities averaged 23.0 cents per kWh against 35.1 for investor-owned (-35%). Political-subdivision utilities averaged 18.2 cents per kWh against 35.1 for investor-owned (-48%).

How many utilities does California have?

EIA-861 (2024) lists 71; residential sales are reported by 32.

Can California customers pick their utility?

Not the wires: 38% of California customers choose an energy supplier, and the local utility still delivers.

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79% of California homes are served by investor-owned utilities

Cite this page

Underlying data are U.S. government works (EIA, Census Bureau). Our tables and charts: CC BY 4.0, credit Electric Consumer. The access date fills in when you open this page.

APA

Electric Consumer. (2026). California electricity by utility type: investor-owned utilities serve 79% of homes. Data as of 7 October 2026. Retrieved [date accessed], from https://electricconsumer.org/ownership/states/california.html

MLA

Electric Consumer. “California electricity by utility type: investor-owned utilities serve 79% of homes.” Electric Consumer, data as of 7 October 2026, https://electricconsumer.org/ownership/states/california.html. Accessed [date accessed].

Chicago

Electric Consumer. “California electricity by utility type: investor-owned utilities serve 79% of homes.” Data as of 7 October 2026. Accessed [date accessed]. https://electricconsumer.org/ownership/states/california.html.

BibTeX

@misc{usedata_ownership_states_california,
  author = "Electric Consumer",
  title = {California electricity by utility type: investor-owned utilities serve 79% of homes},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://electricconsumer.org/ownership/states/california.html},
  note = {Data as of 7 October 2026. Accessed [date accessed]}
}
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