2023 Rates
Beginning January 1, 2023, changes to our rates were implemented.
There are two main components to your water bill: service charge and quantity charge. The service charge, based on your meter size, is fixed and does not vary if you use more or less water. The quantity charge is variable and depends on the amount of water you use. You can find the most current water rates on our billing schedules.
Please note that the California Public Utilities Commission approves all rate changes.
A Modest Decrease on Your Bill
Recently, you may have seen reports that the CPUC, which oversees SJW and other investor-owned water utilities, decided to reduce a component of your water bill referred to as the “Cost of Capital.” The most important takeaway from this decision is that you will see a modest reduction to your water bill.
Surcharge Updates
July 1, 2023
Effective July 1, 2023, Valley Water (VW) is increasing rates to retailers like SJW. On average, a residential customer with a 3/4-inch meter using 11 CCF per month will see their bill increase by approximately $6.53 (or 5.52%) from $118.30 at present rates, to $124.83 starting in July. All monies collected for this rate increase go directly to VW and are known as a “pass through.” SJW does not benefit from this rate increase. Learn more here.
May 8, 2023
As of May 8, 2023, customers saw a surcharge on their bill. This surcharge is for M-WRAM (Monterey-Style Water Revenue Adjustment Mechanism), an account that tracks the revenue received from volume charges.
The surcharge is $0.3026/CCF. For an average user (11 CCF/month), customers have seen an increase of $3.33 per month on their bill. This surcharge will last 12 months and is meant to recover the under-collected balance in the M-WRAM for the period of October 2020 to March 2023. Learn more here.
GRC Year 2 – January 2023
Beginning January 1, 2023, you will see a rate increase on your bill. This reflects the second year of our General Rate Case.
Interim Memo Account Surcharge
Typically, a General Rate Case is decided upon and new rates are effective January 1 of each year. SJW’s decision arrived late in 2022 — going into effect on November 1, 2022. The interim surcharge is a way to “catch up” for the authorized rates that were not collected from January-October 2022 bills. This is a temporary surcharge that will be in effect for 12 months beginning January 1, 2023. After this period, it will no longer be charged. The cost will be $4.85 per month for the average residential customer using 11 CCF. Advice Letter 585 provides more information.
CPUC Fee Decrease
This is listed on the bill as PUC Surcharge. In 1983, the Legislature established a Public Utilities Commission Reimbursement Fee to be paid by utilities to fund their regulation by the Commission. This surcharge has been decreased from 1.43% to 0.8% beginning January 1, 2023. This percentage is applied to the bill total.