Understanding the PCIA

The Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) is a fee charged by investor-owned utilities (IOUs, such as PG&E and SCE) to all customers, including those who receive generation service from a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) like 3CE.

The fee, which is set annually by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), is meant to repay the private utility for long-term power contracts. Due to the dynamics of inputs to the PCIA, the fee can vary dramatically from year to year. These variations create rate volatility for all customers.

The PCIA is not a 3CE charge; it’s collected by and paid to PG&E and SCE.

The CPUC has updated how the PCIA is calculated, and as of January 1, 2026, 3CE customers are seeing higher fees on the PG&E and SCE portions of their bills as a result. 3CE has joined CalCCA in objecting to implementation of the new calculation and will continue to advocate on behalf of our customers. To learn more about PCIA charges, see CalCCA’s website.