California CARE Program 2026: Income Limits & How to Apply

If you live in California and pay a gas or electric bill to one of the big utilities — PG&E, Southern California Edison, SDG&E or SoCalGas — there is a standing discount you may be leaving on the table. It is called CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy), and it is not a one-time grant. Once you are enrolled, the discount shows up on every bill.

CARE is required by state law and overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The money comes from a surcharge on other customers’ bills, not from a waiting list or a limited fund.

This guide uses the CPUC’s income limits for June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027, and it applies to California only.

The Short Answer

• Who qualifies: households at or below the CARE income limit, or households where someone gets CalFresh/SNAP, Medi-Cal, WIC, SSI, LIHEAP, CalWORKs or another listed program.
• What you get: the CPUC says 30-35% off electricity and 20% off natural gas at the large utilities (CPUC).
• How to apply: through your utility — online, by mail or by phone. No proof of income is needed to apply, but you may be checked later.
• The catch: it only works for utilities the CPUC regulates. LADWP and SMUD customers can’t get CARE — they have their own programs (see below).

CARE and FERA Income Limits, June 2026 – May 2027

Income means total gross income (before taxes) of everyone living in the home — wages, Social Security, pensions, child support, public assistance and more. These figures come straight from the CPUC’s CARE/FERA page.

People in household	CARE: income up to	FERA: income range
1–2	$43,280	$43,281 – $54,100
3	$54,640	$54,641 – $68,300
4	$66,000	$66,001 – $82,500
5	$77,360	$77,361 – $96,700
6	$88,720	$88,721 – $110,900
7	$100,080	$100,081 – $125,100
8	$111,440	$111,441 – $139,300
Each extra person	add $11,360	add $14,200 to the top

FERA starts exactly $1 above the CARE line. If you are over CARE by any amount, check FERA before you give up — but only if your electric company offers it (see below).

Living Alone? You Get the Two-Person Limit

Here is a detail that is easy to miss. The CPUC table does not have a separate row for one person. Households of 1 and 2 people share the same $43,280 limit.

That matters. The 2026 federal poverty guideline for one person is $15,960 (HHS, Federal Register). Twice that — the usual “200% of poverty” line — would be $31,920. Because CARE uses the two-person figure, a person living alone can earn $11,360 more than that and still qualify. That covers many single retirees on Social Security and a pension, and many single workers earning around $20 an hour.

If you live alone and assumed you made too much, look again.

You May Qualify Without Counting Income at All

You can qualify for CARE if you or anyone in your household takes part in one of these programs, according to the CPUC and PG&E:

• CalFresh/SNAP (food stamps)
• Medi-Cal/Medicaid
• WIC
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• LIHEAP (energy bill help)
• CalWORKs (TANF) or Tribal TANF
• National School Lunch Program (free lunch)
• Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal only)
• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Medi-Cal for Families (Healthy Families A & B)

If your child gets free school lunch or you are on Medi-Cal, that alone can be enough. Not on any of these yet? See our guides to food stamps (SNAP) and Medicaid.

What CARE Actually Takes Off Your Bill

The discount depends on your utility:

Utility	CARE discount (from the utility’s own page)
PG&E	”35% or more on electricity” and “20% or more on gas”
Southern California Edison	”32.5% off their electric bills”
Utilities with fewer than 100,000 accounts	20% (per the CPUC)

There is a second, newer discount. California utilities now charge a fixed monthly Base Services Charge. The CPUC says CARE customers “will pay a monthly charge of $6/month rather than the standard $24.15/month” — about $18 a month saved before the percentage discount even starts. FERA customers pay about $12 instead of $24.15.

FERA: For Households Just Over the CARE Line

The Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program gives an 18% discount on electricity. Two limits to know:

1. Only three utilities offer it: PG&E, Southern California Edison and SDG&E. It is an electric discount, so it does not lower a SoCalGas bill.
2. One form covers both. PG&E says “CARE and FERA share one application. If you do not qualify for CARE, we will check to see if you qualify for FERA.”

If Your Power Comes From LADWP or SMUD

This is where many Los Angeles and Sacramento residents get stuck. CARE is a program of the utilities the CPUC regulates — and the CPUC says plainly that it “cannot help you resolve issues with publicly owned or municipal utilities, such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) or the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power” (CPUC). Applying to CARE will not work if your electric bill comes from a city utility.

Both big city utilities have their own discount:

LADWP — EZ-SAVE. LADWP’s EZ-SAVE page uses the same income limits as CARE — $43,280 for 1 or 2 people, $66,000 for 4 — but they took effect July 1, 2026, a month later than CARE’s. “You don’t need to show proof of income to enroll.” If you are 62 or older or have a disability, LADWP points you to its separate Lifeline Program, which it says “offers our biggest discounts.” Call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397). LADWP does not list a percentage for EZ-SAVE on that page.

SMUD — Energy Assistance Program Rate (EAPR). SMUD works differently. Its limits are monthly, effective February 1, 2026: $3,607 a month for 1-2 people, $4,553 for 3, $5,500 for 4. The discount is a dollar amount that shrinks as income rises (SMUD):

Your income (federal poverty level)	Maximum monthly discount
0–50%	$105
Over 50–100%	$42
Over 100–150%	$20
Over 150–200%	$10

SMUD says applications may take 2 to 4 weeks to process. Call 1-888-742-7683.

If your bill comes from a different city or public utility district, call the number on your bill and ask whether it has its own low-income rate.

How to Apply — Four Steps

1. Find your utility on your bill. CARE goes through the company that bills you, not through a county office.
2. Apply online, by mail or by phone. Utility phone numbers from the CPUC: PG&E 866-743-2273, Southern California Edison 866-675-6623, SDG&E 800-411-7343, SoCalGas 800-427-2200. SCE also has an automated application line at 1-800-798-5723. PG&E’s online form is on its CARE page in English, Spanish and Chinese.
3. Have your numbers ready. You will state your household size and total income, or name the program (like CalFresh or Medi-Cal) that qualifies you. PG&E and SCE both say no extra documents are needed when you apply.
4. Check your next bill. PG&E says your bill shows the programs you are enrolled in and your total CARE savings. If you don’t see the discount, call the utility.

If your gas and electricity come from different companies — for example SCE for electricity and SoCalGas for gas — contact each one to make sure the discount is on both bills.

Rules That Can Cost You the Discount Later

These conditions come from PG&E’s CARE page. Other utilities follow similar CPUC rules, but check your own utility’s terms.

• The bill must be in your name, and you must live at that address. Sub-metered tenants need the landlord’s bill in their name and must use a paper application.
• No one other than your spouse can claim you as a tax dependent.
• You can’t share a meter with another home.
• High usage can trigger removal. PG&E says monthly electric use “must not exceed six times the Tier 1 allowance.”
• You may be asked to prove income after you enroll (called post-enrollment verification). Answer that letter on time.
• Renew every two years — or every four years if you are on a fixed income. PG&E mails a renewal form three months before your discount ends.
• Tell the utility if you no longer qualify.

More Help on Top of CARE

• Free home energy upgrades. If you meet the CARE or FERA income limits, the CPUC’s Energy Savings Assistance program provides “no-cost weatherization services,” which can include an energy-efficient refrigerator (CPUC). Ask your utility. Our weatherization guide covers the separate federal program.
• Behind on the bill? CARE lowers future bills but does not erase past-due amounts. Apply for LIHEAP — and getting LIHEAP also qualifies you for CARE. See LIHEAP income limits by state for California’s numbers.
• Facing a shutoff? Ask the utility for a payment plan. If that fails, the CPUC will help you negotiate one with a CPUC-regulated utility: 1-800-649-7570, Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Our guide to winter utility shutoff rules explains medical and weather protections.
• Phone and internet discounts are separate — see Lifeline. For water bills, see help paying your water bill. For local emergency help, dial 211.

How We Checked This

We opened and read every source below ourselves on October 25, 2026.

• The CPUC’s own pages on cpuc.ca.gov: the CARE/FERA Program page (income tables, discounts, Base Services Charge), the Financial Assistance page, the Make a Payment Plan page and the Energy Savings Assistance page.
• The utilities’ own CARE pages: PG&E’s CARE page and Southern California Edison’s CARE & FERA page. The SDG&E and SoCalGas CARE pages blocked our automated reading, so for those two we used only the phone numbers the CPUC lists.
• Municipal utility pages: LADWP’s EZ-SAVE page and SMUD’s income-eligible assistance page.
• The 2026 HHS poverty guidelines in the Federal Register, to compare the CARE limit with the poverty line.

What we found that is easy to miss:

1. One person gets the two-person limit. The CPUC table lists “1-2” in a single row at $43,280 — about 2.7 times the 2026 poverty guideline for one person.
2. “30-35%” is a range, not a promise. SCE states 32.5%; PG&E states “35% or more.” Small utilities give 20%.
3. The fixed-charge discount is new and sizable. The CPUC says CARE customers pay about $6 a month for the Base Services Charge instead of $24.15.
4. LADWP and SMUD customers can’t use CARE. The CPUC says it cannot help with municipal utilities. LADWP’s EZ-SAVE copies CARE’s income numbers but switched to them on July 1, 2026, not June 1. SMUD uses monthly limits and flat dollar discounts.
5. FERA’s own table on the CPUC page starts at $43,281, labeled “200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines (CARE) +1” — FERA is designed to pick up exactly where CARE stops.

What we did not do: we did not call any utility. We could not read SDG&E’s or SoCalGas’s CARE pages (blocked to automated tools), so we do not state their exact discount. We did not read the state law itself (Public Utilities Code Section 739.1); we rely on the CPUC’s description of it. The usage, renewal and dependent rules above are PG&E’s published terms; other utilities may word them differently. LADWP does not publish an EZ-SAVE discount percentage on its program page, so we do not give one.

The limits above are for California for June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027 (LADWP: from July 1, 2026; SMUD: from February 1, 2026). Income limits can change each year. If anything here differs from what your utility or the CPUC tells you, follow their instructions and let us know so we can re-check this guide.

Last updated: October 25, 2026

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.