SCE Super Off-Peak Rates: How Solar Homeowners with Batteries Use Cheap Weekend Power to Cut Bills in Half

1. What Super Off-Peak Actually Means on SCE Bills

Every SCE time-of-use plan has at least two pricing tiers: on-peak (when the grid is under stress and rates are high) and off-peak (all other hours at a lower rate). Some SCE plans add a third tier called super off-peak, which is cheaper than standard off-peak and targets specific hours when grid demand is especially low.

The reason super off-peak exists is straightforward. On sunny weekend mornings in California, solar generation from rooftop panels and utility-scale solar farms floods the grid. Commercial and industrial demand is low because businesses are closed. The grid ends up with a surplus of cheap electricity. SCE passes that pricing signal to customers through the super off-peak tier, pricing those hours substantially below the standard off-peak rate.

On TOU-D-4-9PM, the weekend super off-peak window runs from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Approximate all-in rates for 2026 in that window are 18-22 cents per kWh. Compare that to a weekday on-peak rate of 55-58 cents per kWh in summer. The spread is roughly 33-37 cents per kWh. For a homeowner with a battery, that spread is pure margin on every kilowatt-hour they can time-shift from the cheap window to the expensive window.

On TOU-D-PRIME, SCE's default plan for NEM 3.0 solar customers, the super off-peak window runs daily from 9am to 2pm at approximately 8-12 cents per kWh. This is an even deeper discount designed to absorb midday solar surplus every day, not just on weekends.

2. Which SCE Rate Plans Include a Super Off-Peak Window

Not every SCE residential rate plan has a super off-peak tier. Here is where it appears:

3. TOU-D-4-9PM: Weekend Super Off-Peak Hours and What They Cost in 2026

TOU-D-4-9PM is the most widely available SCE plan with a super off-peak tier. It is not restricted to solar customers and it does not require a battery. The rate structure for 2026 approximate all-in rates including generation and delivery:

The winter rate differentials are smaller. Winter on-peak (October through May) drops to roughly 36-40 cents per kWh, and winter super off-peak comes down slightly to about 16-20 cents. The gap narrows from 33-37 cents in summer to roughly 20-24 cents in winter. Both are still meaningful margins for battery cycling.

For solar homeowners without batteries on TOU-D-4-9PM, the super off-peak tier means your panels are generating at the exact same time SCE prices power cheapest. If you are on NEM 2.0 and your panels produce during those hours, you are exporting at 18-22 cents and buying back at on-peak rates later. That is still a reasonable exchange under NEM 2.0. Under NEM 3.0, that exchange is broken -- which is why a battery matters so much for NEM 3.0 customers.

4. TOU-D-PRIME: The NEM 3.0 Default Plan and Its Daily Super Off-Peak Window

TOU-D-PRIME is the rate plan SCE assigns to most new solar customers under NEM 3.0. It is a more aggressive time-of-use structure than TOU-D-4-9PM, with a key difference: the on-peak window applies every single day, including Saturday and Sunday from 4pm to 9pm. That means there is no cheap Saturday evening on this plan -- weekends evenings cost the same as weekday evenings.

The trade-off is a daily super off-peak window from 9am to 2pm at approximately 8-12 cents per kWh. That is cheaper than TOU-D-4-9PM's weekend super off-peak, and it applies 365 days per year instead of just on weekends.

For NEM 3.0 solar customers, TOU-D-PRIME's 9am-2pm super off-peak window aligns directly with peak solar production. Between 9am and 2pm, a south-facing 7-8 kW system in Temecula produces roughly 5-7 kWh per hour in summer. If your battery is not already fully charged from the previous day, it can absorb that production at zero export loss. Any additional generation fills the battery from solar, not the grid, so the 8-12 cents is the counterfactual cost of what you are displacing with free solar electrons.

The more interesting case is a cloudy or low-production day. On those days, your panels under-produce and the battery enters the 9am-2pm super off-peak window with room to charge. Rather than waiting and buying at on-peak rates, the battery can be configured to pull from the grid at 8-12 cents to prepare for the on-peak window. That grid-charging arbitrage is the core economic strategy this guide covers.

5. The Arbitrage Math: 18 Cents In, 55 Cents Out

Battery arbitrage is simple: buy electricity cheap, use it when prices are high, avoid paying the high rate. The math on SCE's super off-peak windows is among the most favorable in California for residential batteries.

On TOU-D-4-9PM in summer:

A 10 kWh usable battery cycling once per day at $0.33 net margin earns approximately $3.30 per day. Over a full summer (90 days), that is $297. Over a full year including lower-margin winter cycles, the annual savings from a 10 kWh battery on TOU-D-4-9PM using the super off-peak window runs roughly $700-900 per year on arbitrage alone. That is in addition to the savings from solar covering daytime load directly.

On TOU-D-PRIME, the super off-peak rate is even lower (8-12 cents) but the on-peak rate is slightly lower too (47-55 cents versus 55-58 cents). The gross margin per kWh is roughly similar: 35-43 cents. With daily cycling instead of weekend-only cycling, a 10 kWh battery on TOU-D-PRIME can generate $1,100-1,400 per year in avoided on-peak purchases.

For reference, a typical Temecula home with central AC uses 1,500-2,500 kWh per month in summer. Without solar or a battery, the on-peak portion of that bill can reach $400-600 per month in June through August. A correctly sized battery cycling through the super off-peak window every day covers 8-12 kWh of that on-peak load, which is the difference between a $400 summer bill and a $120 summer bill.

6. NEM 3.0 Export Credits vs Grid-Charging During Super Off-Peak

Under NEM 3.0, every solar export to the grid is credited at the Avoided Cost Calculator rate. That rate averages 5-8 cents per kWh for most hours of the year. During the weekend super off-peak window on TOU-D-4-9PM (8am-4pm), the ACC export rate is at the low end because the grid already has abundant supply from California's solar fleet. You might receive 4-6 cents per kWh exported during those hours.

Compare that to the value of storing those same kilowatt-hours in your battery and discharging them at 5pm on Monday at 55 cents. The stored-and-discharged electron is worth roughly 9-13 times more than the exported electron. This is not a close comparison. Under NEM 3.0, every kilowatt-hour you can keep out of the export stream and redirect into storage is a substantial win.

The only situation where exporting beats storing is when your battery is already at 100% state of charge and solar is still generating. You cannot store what you have no room for. That is why battery sizing matters. A 10 kWh battery paired with an 8 kW solar system in Temecula will fill around 9am on a clear summer day. Any solar production after that point exports at ACC rates until the battery begins discharging. Properly sized systems (12-20 kWh of storage for high-production summer homes) delay that export window until later in the afternoon, capturing more of the midday production in storage.

For NEM 3.0 customers asking whether to grid-charge the battery during super off-peak on days when solar does not fill it: yes, almost always. Buying grid power at 8-20 cents to discharge at 47-55 cents is a 2.3-6.9x return on the electricity purchased. The only exceptions are grid outage preparedness mode (where you want to preserve battery capacity for backup) and cases where your utility contract explicitly prohibits grid-charging for export compensation -- which NEM 3.0 does not do.

7. EV Charging During the Super Off-Peak Window

The super off-peak window is the best time to charge an EV on SCE rates. A Level 2 home charger delivering 7.2 kW adds roughly 25 miles of range per hour at about $1.30-1.60 per hour during super off-peak on TOU-D-4-9PM. At on-peak rates, that same hour costs $3.85-4.20. Over 30,000 miles of annual driving on a vehicle averaging 3.5 miles per kWh, the difference between charging entirely at super off-peak versus entirely at on-peak is roughly $600-800 per year.

For EV owners on TOU-D-4-9PM without a battery, the weekend 8am-4pm window is your primary target. Most EV charging apps and built-in vehicle schedulers allow you to set a departure time and charge start time. Set it to begin at 8am Saturday or Sunday and complete before 4pm. For weekday charging, the cheapest option is the overnight off-peak window (midnight to 4pm on weekdays, roughly 23-28 cents). Avoid charging between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays entirely.

For EV owners on TOU-D-PRIME, the 9am-2pm super off-peak window at 8-12 cents is better than the weekend window on TOU-D-4-9PM. If your schedule allows, charging at 10am on a Tuesday costs roughly half what TOU-D-4-9PM's weekend rate costs and one-fifth what on-peak costs. Solar-only EV charging (plugging in at home during peak production hours without a rate plan) wastes the opportunity to match the cheapest rate window. TOU-D-PRIME explicitly prices that midday window at its cheapest to encourage EV charging from solar surplus.

Homes with both a battery and an EV face a prioritization question: does the solar production charge the battery first or the EV first? Most energy management systems let you set priority. For NEM 3.0 customers, battery-first is usually correct because the battery can cycle at peak every day while the EV charges at super off-peak rates from the grid when needed. On days with excellent production, charge both simultaneously.

8. How to Configure Enphase, Tesla Powerwall, and Franklin aPower for Super Off-Peak Charging

Every major battery system sold in California supports time-of-use optimization with scheduled charge and discharge windows. Here is how to configure each for SCE super off-peak.

All three systems also offer automated TOU optimization that reads your utility rate plan and schedules charge and discharge without manual window entry. Enphase's Savings Mode with an SCE rate plan selected is the simplest for homeowners who do not want to manage schedules manually. Tesla's Time-Based Control is similarly automated. Franklin requires more manual configuration but gives granular control over charge targets.

9. Weekend Load Shifting for Pool Owners and High-Usage Homes

The super off-peak window is not only valuable for battery charging. Any large electrical load you can move into that window -- pool pump, EV charging, laundry, dishwasher, irrigation system pump -- gets priced at 18-22 cents instead of 28-55 cents. For high-consumption homes, the load-shifting opportunity from weekend scheduling alone can save $50-100 per month before touching the battery.

Pool pumps are the clearest example. A variable-speed pool pump running 8 hours per day at 1.5 kW consumes 12 kWh. At on-peak rates (55 cents), that is $6.60 per day. At super off-peak rates on a weekend (20 cents), that is $2.40 per day. Over 52 weekend days per year, running the pump during super off-peak instead of on-peak saves $218. Over weekdays, shifting the pump to the 10pm-8am off-peak window (rather than afternoon) saves another $200-250.

Smart pool pump controllers like Pentair IntelliConnect and Hayward OmniLogic support time-of-use scheduling. You enter your on-peak hours, and the controller automatically defers or shifts pump operation to cheaper windows. This is a $200-400 add-on for most existing variable-speed pump installations and typically pays back in under two years on SCE TOU rates.

Laundry is the next most impactful. A washer and dryer cycle uses roughly 3.5-5 kWh. Running it at 9am Saturday costs about $0.80-1.00. Running it at 6pm on a Tuesday costs about $1.93-2.75. The per-load difference is small but the annual habit difference adds up. A family running 8 loads per week that moves even half of them to weekend or overnight windows saves $200-300 per year on SCE TOU rates.

Dishwashers, water heaters (electric resistance or heat pump), and HVAC pre-cooling also respond to time-of-use scheduling. Pre-cooling your home to 74 degrees before 4pm, then allowing it to drift to 76 or 77 during on-peak hours, reduces compressor runtime during the most expensive window. A 5-ton AC system at 2.5 kW per ton running 30 minutes less per hour during a 5-hour on-peak window avoids 3.75 kWh at 55 cents -- roughly $2 per day, or $180 per summer.

10. Summer vs Winter: How the Super Off-Peak Savings Change by Season

SCE's TOU rates have two seasons: summer (June 1 through September 30) and winter (October 1 through May 31). The on-peak rate changes between seasons. The super off-peak rate on TOU-D-4-9PM changes less dramatically. That asymmetry means the arbitrage margin is wider in summer and narrower in winter.

Two things are worth noting from this table. First, TOU-D-PRIME has a slightly higher summer arbitrage ceiling than TOU-D-4-9PM on super off-peak (8-12 cents vs 18-22 cents buy-in with similar on-peak rates). That is why NEM 3.0 customers on TOU-D-PRIME who use the daily super off-peak window get stronger summer battery ROI than TOU-D-4-9PM customers who only have the weekend window.

Second, winter arbitrage margins are still meaningful at 20-30 cents per kWh. Winter solar production in Temecula is lower (shorter days, lower sun angle) but still generates 4-5 kWh per hour on clear days from 10am to 2pm. If solar production and super off-peak grid charging together fill the battery by 1pm in winter, you still have 4-5 hours of on-peak coverage before the battery depletes. That covers most of the on-peak window on most winter days.

11. Temecula Peak Hour Patterns in Summer and Why They Line Up Perfectly

Temecula sits in an inland valley east of the coastal marine layer. By 2pm in June through September, inland temperatures in the city routinely reach 95-108 degrees. That heat drives air conditioning loads that begin ramping up around 1pm and peak between 4pm and 7pm, which is exactly the on-peak window on TOU plans.

The alignment between Temecula's climate and SCE's peak hours is not coincidental. SCE priced those hours as on-peak specifically because that is when residential demand peaks across their service territory, and inland valley communities like Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, and Lake Elsinore are among the highest-demand areas due to heat.

What this means practically: a typical Temecula home with 2,500-3,500 square feet and a 3-5 ton AC system running through a summer afternoon draws 3-7 kW of AC load alone during on-peak hours. Add a refrigerator, lights, and other base load and a summer evening house might pull 5-9 kW total. A single 13.5 kWh battery at 5 kW discharge covers the average home for 1.5-2.5 hours of the 5-hour on-peak window. Two batteries (27 kWh total) can cover the full 5-hour window for a moderately sized home.

During the weekend super off-peak window (8am-4pm Saturday and Sunday), Temecula temperatures are already climbing toward 85-95 degrees by 10am in summer. The AC is running, solar production is at peak, and the battery is charging from solar and potentially from the grid. By 4pm when the super off-peak window closes, a well-configured system should have a full or near-full battery ready for the transition to on-peak pricing.

On weekdays, the same strategy depends on solar production and battery charge state at the end of the solar day. A 10 kW solar system with a 20 kWh battery in Temecula produces roughly 55-70 kWh per day in summer. After covering base daytime load, a fully charged 20 kWh battery enters the on-peak window at 4pm and can power the home through 9pm without drawing from the grid. That daily cycle is what zero-bill solar looks like in practice for a high-consumption Temecula home.

12. Frequently Asked Questions