San Diego Gas & Electric charges EV drivers 10.5 cents per kWh overnight versus 71.3 cents at the evening peak – with no BYD or E.ON deal involved
Key points
- San Diego Gas & Electric’s EV-TOU-5 rate charges 10.488 cents per kilowatt-hour in its super off-peak summer window, against 71.307 cents during the 4pm-9pm evening peak, according to the utility’s own published rate schedule.
- The super off-peak window covers midnight to 6am and, on weekdays, 10am to 2pm as well; on weekends and holidays it runs from midnight to 2pm.
- Unlike the BYD-E.ON charging bonus that launched in Germany on November 2, 2026, there is no comparable BYD or E.ON program for US drivers – BYD does not sell passenger cars to retail customers in the United States, and E.ON has no US electricity-retail business.
In California, it is the local utility, not a car-brand partnership, that rewards electric-vehicle owners for charging at the right time. San Diego Gas & Electric’s EV-TOU-5 rate schedule shows a nearly sevenfold gap between its cheapest and most expensive hours.
In Germany, BYD and E.ON Energie Deutschland started a joint “Home Charge” bonus on November 2, 2026, paying BYD drivers 12 euro cents per smart-charged kilowatt-hour. No such manufacturer-branded program exists in the United States. Instead, American EV owners who want a cheaper rate have to sign up for their own utility’s time-of-use plan – and those plans, and their savings, vary sharply by state and provider.
What SDG&E’s EV-TOU-5 rate actually charges
According to San Diego Gas & Electric’s own rate table, effective October 1, 2025, for bundled (non-CCA) customers with a qualifying electric vehicle, the EV-TOU-5 schedule has three price tiers that differ between summer and winter:
| Tier | Summer (¢/kWh) | Winter (¢/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| On-peak | 71.307 | 47.973 |
| Off-peak | 45.661 | 43.094 |
| Super off-peak | 10.488 | 9.852 |
According to SDG&E’s own time-of-use page, on weekdays super off-peak runs from midnight to 6am and again from 10am to 2pm; off-peak covers 6am-10am, 2pm-4pm and 9pm-midnight; on-peak is 4pm-9pm. On weekends and listed holidays, super off-peak extends from midnight all the way to 2pm.
What the price gap is worth in practice
SDG&E’s own figures, not a marketing claim, show how wide the gap is between charging at the best and worst times.
Model calculation: super off-peak versus on-peak, summer rates
- Price gap: 71.307¢ (on-peak) − 10.488¢ (super off-peak) = 60.819¢ per kWh.
- Ratio: 71.307 ÷ 10.488 ≈ 6.8 – charging at the most expensive hour costs almost seven times as much per kWh as charging at the cheapest hour.
- Annual volume: for comparison with the German model calculation, 2,000 kWh a year charged at super off-peak instead of on-peak rates would cost $209.76 instead of $1,426.14 – a difference of about $1,216, by Net Trends’ own calculation from SDG&E’s published rates.
This is a model calculation based on SDG&E’s own published rate table, not a guarantee; actual bills depend on when and how much a household actually charges, and on whether other charges and credits apply.
Who can sign up
Checklist: does EV-TOU-5 make sense for you?
- Is the household an SDG&E bundled (non-CCA) customer in San Diego County?
- Is there a qualifying electric vehicle registered to the account?
- Can most charging be scheduled into the super off-peak windows (midnight-6am and 10am-2pm on weekdays, midnight-2pm on weekends)?
- Is a smart charger or the vehicle’s own scheduling feature available to automate night-time starts?
- Has the current rate plan been compared against EV-TOU-5 through the SDG&E online account before switching?
Why there’s no BYD or E.ON program here
BYD, the Chinese carmaker behind the German bonus, does not sell passenger vehicles to retail buyers in the United States; its US business is limited mainly to commercial buses and trucks, so a US consumer charging bonus tied to BYD ownership has no real market to apply to. E.ON, the German energy group running the “Home Charge” offer with BYD, likewise has no electricity-retail business for US households – unlike in the United Kingdom, where its E.ON Next subsidiary does sell power directly to consumers.
For American drivers, the nearest equivalent to a manufacturer-branded charging bonus is a utility’s own time-of-use rate. SDG&E’s EV-TOU-5 is one example; other utilities across the country set their own super off-peak, off-peak and on-peak rates and hours, so the savings shown here do not transfer directly to a different state or provider.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a BYD or E.ON charging bonus for US drivers like the one in Germany?
No. BYD does not sell passenger cars to US retail customers, and E.ON has no electricity-retail business in the United States. The closest equivalent is a utility’s own time-of-use rate, such as SDG&E’s EV-TOU-5.
How much cheaper is overnight charging under SDG&E’s EV-TOU-5 rate?
In summer, the super off-peak rate is 10.488 cents per kWh, against 71.307 cents at the on-peak hour – a gap of 60.819 cents per kWh, according to SDG&E’s own rate table effective October 1, 2025.
When are the super off-peak hours?
On weekdays: midnight to 6am and 10am to 2pm. On weekends and listed holidays: midnight to 2pm. On-peak is 4pm to 9pm every day, according to SDG&E’s time-of-use page.
Does this rate apply outside San Diego County?
No. EV-TOU-5 is an SDG&E rate schedule for its own service territory. Other US utilities publish their own time-of-use rates and hours, which can differ significantly.
Sources and status
- San Diego Gas & Electric: Schedule EV-TOU-5 rate table, effective October 1, 2025.
- San Diego Gas & Electric: time-of-use windows for EV-TOU-5.
- BYD/E.ON Energie Deutschland: joint press release on the German “Home Charge” bonus, November 2, 2026 (in German).
Research and data as of: November 11, 2026.
Transparency note: AI-assisted tools were used in researching, structuring and writing this article. The sources used are listed in the article. Publication takes place only after manual editorial approval. US-market adaptation of a Net Trends original article.
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