Best Time to Charge Your EV on PG&E: Off-Peak Hours by Rate Plan (2026)

On PG&E's EV2-A and E-ELEC plans, the cheapest time to charge your EV is between midnight and 3 p.m., every day of the year, weekends and holidays included. On the default E-TOU-C plan, every hour outside 4-9 p.m. costs the same, so any time after 9 p.m. works. The common mistake is plugging in when you get home and letting the car start right away: on EV2-A, a typical charge that starts at 6 p.m. costs about 80% more in winter than the same charge started at midnight, and more than twice as much in summer. Set a start time of 12 a.m. in your car or charger and you get the cheap rate every night without thinking about it.

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Key facts

• EV2-A and E-ELEC: off-peak midnight-3 p.m.; part-peak 3-4 p.m. and 9 p.m.-midnight; peak 4-9 p.m. Same hours every day, including weekends and holidays (Schedule EV2, Schedule E-ELEC).
• E-TOU-C: peak 4-9 p.m. every day; all other hours are off-peak. There's no part-peak (Schedule E-TOU-C).
• Cheapest price on any of the three: EV2-A off-peak, $0.22558/kWh year-round (bundled rate, effective June 1, 2026).
• 9 p.m. is not off-peak on EV2-A or E-ELEC. It's part-peak until midnight. On E-TOU-C, 9 p.m. is off-peak.
• EV-B (a separate EV meter) has different hours: weekday off-peak is 11 p.m.-7 a.m. (Schedule EV).
• PG&E's own advice is the same: most EVs and home chargers let you program a charging time, and you should set it for the lowest-price period (PG&E EV rate plans).

Off-peak hours by PG&E rate plan

Prices are PG&E bundled total rates per kWh, effective June 1, 2026. Summer is June 1-September 30; winter is October 1-May 31 (EV-B uses different seasons, below).

Two things stand out:

1. On EV2-A, timing is almost everything. The off-peak price is about 55% of the peak price in winter and about 42% in summer.
2. On E-ELEC in winter, the gap is small. Winter off-peak ($0.28468) is only about 3.6 cents below peak ($0.32063). In summer the gap is about 22 cents, so scheduling matters much more from June through September.

Not sure which plan you're on? The plan name (E-TOU-C, EV2-A, E-ELEC or another) is printed on your PG&E bill. Our guide to reading your PG&E bill shows where to find it.

What one charge costs, depending on when it starts

Here's a hypothetical example: you come home and add 30 kWh (roughly 100 miles for an EV that gets 3.5 miles per kWh) with a Level 2 charger running at 32 amps on 240 volts, about 7.7 kW. That takes just under 4 hours. We priced the same 30 kWh starting at three different times. If it starts at 6 p.m., about 23 kWh land in the 4-9 p.m. peak and the rest after 9 p.m. If it starts at 9 p.m., about 23 kWh land in the 9 p.m.-midnight window and the rest after midnight.

Winter (October-May), cost of one 30 kWh charge

Summer (June-September), cost of one 30 kWh charge

At ten charges like this a month (300 kWh), moving the start from 6 p.m. to midnight saves about $54 a month on EV2-A in winter and $86 in summer. On E-ELEC it's about $9 in winter and $54 in summer. On E-TOU-C, anything after 9 p.m. is already off-peak, so the saving from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. or later is about $7 in winter and $28 in summer.

The E-TOU-C figures use the full off-peak price because EV charging usually pushes a home past its baseline allowance. If some of your charging falls within baseline, those kWh are $0.08140 cheaper; see PG&E Baseline Allowance Explained.

These are illustrations, not predictions. They use PG&E bundled energy rates only. If a community choice aggregator such as MCE, EBCE, SVCE or Peninsula Clean Energy supplies your power, your generation price differs, but the peak hours are the same (Community Choice Aggregation Explained). Taxes, the Base Services Charge and CARE/FERA discounts aren't included.

Will the car finish in the cheap window?

On EV2-A and E-ELEC, the off-peak window is 15 hours long (midnight-3 p.m.). That's plenty for most drivers:

• Level 2 at 32 amps (about 7.7 kW): up to about 115 kWh in 15 hours, more than any typical EV battery holds. A 48-amp hardwired charger (about 11.5 kW) is faster still. Your car's onboard charger may cap the rate below what the wall unit can deliver.
• Level 1, a standard 120-volt outlet at 12 amps (about 1.44 kW): about 21.6 kWh in 15 hours, or roughly 75 miles at 3.5 miles per kWh. If you leave at 7 a.m., you get only seven hours (about 10 kWh) before you unplug.

If you drive off at 7 or 8 a.m., what matters is what fits between midnight and departure. At 7.7 kW, seven hours is about 54 kWh, which covers most daily driving many times over.

How to set the schedule

PG&E notes you can set off-peak charging from the charging station, its network app, or the vehicle itself (PG&E EV rate plans). Pick one place to control it:

1. Use the car's own timer if it has one. Most EVs let you set a charging start time or "charge only during off-peak hours" in the car or its app. Set the start to 12:00 a.m. (EV2-A, E-ELEC) or 9:00 p.m. (E-TOU-C) and set the end, if asked, to 3:00 p.m. or your departure time.
2. Or use a smart charger's schedule, and leave the car set to charge whenever it's plugged in. If both the car and the charger have schedules, they can fight: the charger may be ready at midnight while the car waits for a different time, or the reverse. One schedule is easier to troubleshoot.
3. Watch "departure time" modes. Some cars work backward from a departure time and start charging as late as possible. That's fine as long as the start still lands after midnight. A very large charge with an early departure can pull the start back into the 9 p.m.-midnight part-peak.
4. Turn off preconditioning during peak. Heating or cooling the cabin while plugged in draws from the wall. Preconditioning at 7 a.m. is off-peak on every plan; at 5 p.m. it's peak.
5. Check the clock. Make sure the car and charger are set to Pacific time, and give yourself a few minutes' margin (start at 12:05 a.m., not 11:59 p.m.).
6. Verify on your bill or usage data. After a week, look at your hourly usage in your PG&E account or Green Button download. Charging spikes should show up after midnight, not at 6 p.m. Our PG&E usage analyzer shows how much of your usage lands in each window.

On EV2-A and E-ELEC the whole house is on the same clock, not just the car. Running the dishwasher, washer and dryer after midnight or in the morning gets the same off-peak price. PG&E lists AC, washer, dryer and dishwasher as good loads for the midnight-3 p.m. window (PG&E EV rate plans).

If you have a separate EV meter (EV-B)

EV-B prices the car on its own meter, with different hours and seasons (Schedule EV):

• Peak: 2-9 p.m. Monday-Friday; 3-7 p.m. weekends and holidays.
• Part-peak: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. and 9-11 p.m. Monday-Friday, except holidays.
• Off-peak: everything else. That's 11 p.m.-7 a.m. on weekdays and every hour except 3-7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
• Prices: summer (May 1-October 31) $0.62131 peak, $0.37720 part-peak, $0.26465 off-peak; winter (November 1-April 30) $0.43878, $0.30677 and $0.23504, plus a meter charge of $0.04928 a day.
• Daylight saving quirk: EV-B's time periods start and end one hour later from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in April, and from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November.

On EV-B, set the car to start at 11 p.m. on weeknights (midnight during the two daylight saving shift periods) and finish by 7 a.m. EV-B isn't eligible for CARE, FERA or Medical Baseline discounts, and if you have a second EV meter, the house can't use EV2-A (PG&E EV rate plans).

Which plan should you be on?

Scheduling decides how much a plan saves, but the plan itself matters too:

• EV2-A usually wins if nearly all charging happens after midnight. The cheap rate applies to the whole house. See EV2-A vs E-TOU-C.
• E-ELEC often wins for homes with a heat pump or lots of winter evening use. See PG&E E-ELEC Rate Plan Explained.
• E-TOU-C is the default and the simplest. It can be fine if you drive little and charge after 9 p.m.

PG&E lets you change rate plans twice in your first 12 months; after the second change you stay on the new plan for 12 months (PG&E EV rate plans). For the bigger picture on EV fuel costs, see Should You Buy an EV With CA Gas at $6?.

Tools that make the schedule automatic

If your car already has a charging timer, you don't need new hardware to charge off-peak. These help if it doesn't, or if you want to see what's happening:

• Emporia Level 2 EV Charger (48A, hardwired, J1772). The listing says its app can schedule charging sessions around utility rates, and that it's UL listed and ENERGY STAR certified. Professional installation is recommended. Emporia also sells plug-in and Tesla (NACS) versions.
• ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 EV Charger (NEMA 14-50 plug, J1772). The listing says it can connect to your utility's rate plan to charge automatically when rates are lowest. It needs a 40A or 50A circuit, and Tesla owners need an adapter. Amazon's review summary notes mixed reports about WiFi and the app, so a car-side timer is a useful backup.
• Emporia Vue 3 home energy monitor (16 circuit sensors). Clamped on the EV circuit, it shows hour by hour whether charging actually starts after midnight, and what else in the house runs during peak. Emporia's listing recommends a professional electrician for installation.

Check your own numbers

Upload your PG&E bill to My Big Bill for a free audit. It reads your rate plan and usage and won't claim savings your bill doesn't support. To see how much of your usage lands in each time window, run your Green Button file through the PG&E usage analyzer. It reprices a year of your hourly usage on EV2-A, E-ELEC, E-TOU-C and the other plans.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest time to charge an EV on PG&E?

On EV2-A and E-ELEC, midnight to 3 p.m. every day, including weekends and holidays. EV2-A's off-peak price is $0.22558 per kWh year-round (bundled, effective June 1, 2026). On E-TOU-C, every hour outside 4-9 p.m. is off-peak at the same price.

Is 9 p.m. off-peak on PG&E?

It depends on the plan. On E-TOU-C, 9 p.m. to 4 p.m. the next day is off-peak. On EV2-A and E-ELEC, 9 p.m. to midnight is part-peak, and off-peak starts at midnight.

Are PG&E off-peak hours different on weekends?

Not on EV2-A, E-ELEC or E-TOU-C: the same hours apply every day, including weekends and holidays. On EV-B, the separate EV-meter plan, weekends and holidays have only a 3-7 p.m. peak and every other hour is off-peak.

How much does charging at 6 p.m. instead of midnight cost on EV2-A?

In our hypothetical 30 kWh charge at about 7.7 kW, starting at 6 p.m. costs about $12.21 in winter and $15.37 in summer on EV2-A, versus $6.77 starting at midnight. At ten such charges a month, that's about $54 a month in winter and $86 in summer.

Should I set the charging schedule in the car or the charger?

Either works, but use one. If the car has a charging timer, set it to start at midnight (EV2-A, E-ELEC) or 9 p.m. (E-TOU-C) and leave the charger on charge-when-plugged-in. If both have schedules, they can conflict and delay or block charging.

Can a Level 1 outlet finish charging in the off-peak window?

A 120-volt outlet at 12 amps delivers about 1.44 kW, or about 21.6 kWh over the full 15-hour midnight-3 p.m. window on EV2-A and E-ELEC. That's roughly 75 miles at 3.5 miles per kWh, but only about 10 kWh if you unplug at 7 a.m.