California public power utility Merced Irrigation District is considering a proposal to update its electric rates that would result in reduced costs for many of its customers.
A net system-wide average decrease of about 9 percent is expected, although individual customers’ bills will vary and depend on their individual habits and energy usage.
If adopted by the MID Board of Directors in June, the updated rates would take effect soon after. The proposed changes are based on a comprehensive Cost-of-Service study, which determines the costs MID incurs to provide service to customers.
The study evaluates the cost of procuring and delivering electricity, maintaining electric infrastructure, and allocates those costs to different customer rate classes. The results ensure proposed rates recover the costs necessary to provide safe and reliable power.
In addition to updates to base rates the new rates would update certain variable components of customers’ bills – the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) and Environmental Charge methodologies – to better align with the timing of costs incurred. “These updates are designed to fairly allocate costs to all customers while maintaining safety and reliability,” said Colin Selby, Deputy General Manager of Energy Resources.
Additionally, MID is proposing changes for solar customers that are within the NEM 2.0 rate structure, including reducing the fixed customer charge from $65 to $30 per month, and the addition of a demand charge for peak monthly power use.
“We recommend solar customers use household appliances when their system is generating power,” said Selby.
The MID Board of Directors will consider adopting proposed rates at its June 2, 2026 public meeting.
