CARE and FERA 2026: California Energy Bill Discounts

A California household qualifies for CARE with gross income up to $43,280 a year for one or two people, $54,640 for three or $66,000 for four, or when anyone in the home gets CalFresh, Medi-Cal, WIC, SSI, CalWORKs or LIHEAP. CARE takes 30-35% off the electric bill and 20% off gas, and households earning a little more, up to $54,100 for one or two people, get 18% off electricity through FERA. Apply today on your utility's CARE/FERA page: the form takes a few minutes, asks for no documents, and PG&E puts the discount on your next bill.

What CARE and FERA take off your bill

State law sets CARE at 30-35% off electricity at every regulated electric company with 100,000 or more customer accounts; smaller regulated companies give 20%. Gas customers get 20% off.

FERA is an 18% electric discount from PG&E, SCE and SDG&E. Those three companies also cut the monthly Base Services Charge on the electric bill from the standard $24.15 to $6 for CARE customers, about $18 a month saved, and to $12 for FERA customers. One application covers both programs: when your income lands above the CARE line, the utility checks you for FERA without a second form. PG&E pays no retroactive discount for months you were off the program, so each month you wait is money gone.

Income limits from June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027

Add up the gross yearly income, before taxes, of everyone living in the home: wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, public assistance, child and spousal support, rental income and interest. Use the income coming in now. The limits below come from the CPUC and reset every June.

SB 1130, a state law signed September 22, 2024 and in force since January 1, 2025, dropped FERA's old three-person minimum. PG&E, SCE and SDG&E began accepting one- and two-person households on June 1, 2025. A single adult earning $50,000 qualifies today. A flyer that says FERA needs three people is out of date.

The utility also checks account facts: the bill is in your name, you live at that address, and nobody other than your spouse claims you as a dependent on a tax return. PG&E also requires a meter of your own, shared with no other home.

Qualify through a benefit you already get

CARE skips the income math when you or anyone in your household is enrolled in one of these programs:

• CalFresh (SNAP)
• Medi-Cal or Medicaid, including Medi-Cal for Families (Healthy Families A and B)
• WIC
• CalWORKs (TANF) or Tribal TANF
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• LIHEAP
• National School Lunch Program (a child certified for free meals)
• Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal only) or Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance

Mark the program on the application and keep that person's approval letter: it is your proof if the utility checks later. The program route leads to CARE, the bigger discount. If no one in your home is on food or health aid yet, compare your income with the CalFresh income limits and the Medi-Cal income limits.

How to apply today

1. Find the company name on your bill. If one company sends both your gas and electric charges, one application covers both. If SCE sends your power bill and SoCalGas your gas bill, apply with each company.
2. Total your household's gross yearly income, or pick the program someone in the home is enrolled in. Have the account number from the bill ready.
3. Apply online, or use the phone, mail or fax route in the table below. No pay stubs or benefit letters go with the application.
4. Save the confirmation and read your next bill. PG&E prints CARE Discount on page one under Your Enrolled Programs. If the line is missing after a full billing cycle, call the utility with your confirmation in hand.
5. Tenants billed through a landlord, mobile home park or marina use the company's sub-metered application. PG&E takes that one on paper only, and the landlord passes the discount through on your statement.

After you enroll: verification and renewal

PG&E and SCE can select an enrolled household for post-enrollment verification at any time, and PG&E picks households at random. The letter or email asks for proof of household income or a letter showing someone in the home is enrolled in a qualifying program, with a due date. Answer by that date or the discount comes off. SCE gives 90 days from the date on the letter, answers online uploads in 24 to 48 hours and takes three weeks to a month by mail. A household with no income and no benefits sends PG&E an Affidavit of Zero Income with the form.

Heavy use brings its own check. Under CPUC rules, use that reaches 400% of baseline triggers a high-usage income verification at PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, and SDG&E asks every adult in the home for proof. To keep CARE at PG&E, monthly electric use must stay at or under six times the Tier 1 allowance.

CARE lasts two years, or four if you live on a fixed income, and then you renew. PG&E mails the renewal form about three months before the discount ends. Tell the utility when your household stops qualifying; SoCalGas sets 30 days for that.

Where it splits

• If you just lost a job, apply now on what is coming in today. SoCalGas counts income from the date you became unemployed, and SDG&E uses current income even while you collect unemployment benefits.
• If CARE was denied, read the reason, correct the household count or income, and reapply when your income changes. PG&E asks for proof of income when you reapply within 24 months of a denial.
• If LADWP, SMUD or another publicly owned (municipal) utility sends your bill, apply for its own discount: EZ-SAVE at LADWP, the Energy Assistance Program Rate at SMUD.
• If someone at home relies on powered medical equipment or has a medical condition that needs extra heating or cooling, apply for Medical Baseline too. At PG&E it adds about 500 kWh of electricity and/or 25 therms of gas a month at the lowest price on your rate once a medical practitioner certifies the need.

Behind on the bill: what you can get

• Arrearage Management Plan (AMP). AMP runs at PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and SoCalGas. At PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, CARE and FERA customers qualify when they owe $500 or more with some of it over 90 days past due, have been customers for six months and have made at least one on-time payment. Each full, on-time payment of the current bill wipes out one-twelfth of the old balance, up to $8,000 after 12 payments. PG&E and SDG&E set the threshold for gas-only accounts at $250, SDG&E protects enrolled customers from disconnection, and SoCalGas opens AMP to CARE customers. Rooftop-solar billing accounts and master-metered buildings, including PG&E's sub-metered tenants, cannot use AMP. At SCE, two missed payments in a row or three in total end the plan.
• HEAP. California's LIHEAP program pays a one-time amount toward your utility bill through a local agency, and a 24-48 hour disconnect notice counts as a crisis for ECIP, the program's emergency help for low-income households. Agencies serve the most vulnerable households first. Find yours with the CSD provider finder and follow our LIHEAP application guide. At PG&E, LIHEAP payments go toward current charges while you are on AMP, so you can use both.
• A shutoff date on the notice. Work through our shutoff notice guide today, before that date.
• CPUC complaint. If customer service leaves a wrong denial or a missing discount unfixed, file an informal complaint with the CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch online. Its caseworkers gather the facts and take them to the utility. The branch handles regulated companies such as PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and SoCalGas and does not take complaints about municipal utilities.

Today

1. Open your utility's application from the table and submit it with your household size and gross income, or the program someone in your home is enrolled in.
2. If you owe PG&E, SCE or SDG&E $500 or more, part of it over 90 days late, and the account has no rooftop-solar billing, enroll in AMP as soon as CARE or FERA shows on your account.
3. File the confirmation number with your bills.

What comes back: SoCalGas answers on screen, PG&E shows the discount on your next bill, and a verification letter can arrive any time before renewal. Answer it by the due date and the discount runs the full two years, or four on a fixed income.