Los Angeles – October 01, 2026 -- Clean Power Alliance (CPA) will eliminate generation charges entirely from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for more than 4,000 Southern California households as part of a two-year pilot testing whether zero-cost daytime electricity shifts consumer behavior.
CPA zeroes out generation rates during an eight-hour daily window
Under the Time-Of-Use-SMART (TOU-SMART) pilot, participants will pay $0 per kilowatt-hour for generation during CPA's super-off-peak period, while on-peak charges from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. remain elevated and overnight off-peak rates from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. will rise slightly. CPA estimates customers could save hundreds of dollars annually by shifting activities like EV charging, laundry and HVAC use into daylight hours, with additional savings available to customers enrolled in CPA's EV SmartCharge program.
Bill protection guards against financial risk during the trial
Participants are covered by a bill-protection mechanism: if TOU-SMART costs more than their prior TOU-D-PRIME rate, CPA will issue a credit for the difference at the end of each 12-month period. Customers may exit the pilot at any time.
UCLA designs the research framework to test behavioral messaging
CPA partnered with UCLA Anderson School of Management and the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, beginning in fall 2025, to structure the study. Professor Magali Delmas, who studies how incentives influence household energy behavior, will help CPA test whether cost-focused versus environment-focused messaging more effectively drives load-shifting, and whether behavioral changes persist over the full two-year period.
CPA CEO Ted Bardacke said the pilot is meant to generate real-world data that can inform future rate design as daytime solar price incentives enter California's broader policy debate.
Household variables will determine how much shifting occurs
Researchers will track how factors such as EV ownership, pool pumps, electric heat pumps, housing type and local climate affect a household's capacity to shift electricity use into midday hours. CPA, which serves roughly three million residents and businesses across 38 communities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said findings could shape future rate structures, programs and customer outreach as the grid absorbs greater shares of solar generation.