CARE and FERA discounts and plug-in solar

The short answer: CARE and FERA lower the price you pay for electricity. That's good for your bill, but it means each kWh a plug-in kit makes saves you less, so the kit takes longer to pay for itself.

The discounts

• CARE takes 30% to 35% off your electric bill.^[source] What matters for a kit is the discount on each kWh. From the utilities' own figures, our calculator uses 37.5% on PG&E,^[source] 37% on SDG&E^[source] and 32.5% on SCE.^[source] PG&E and SDG&E come out above 35% because CARE customers also skip some charges. For other utilities it uses 32.5%, the middle of the state range.^[source]
• FERA takes 18% off.^{[source][source]}

Who qualifies

These are the yearly household income limits for Jun 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027.^{[source][source]}

CARE and FERA income limits

People in household	CARE: yearly income up to	FERA: yearly income up to
1-2	$43,280	$54,100
3	$54,640	$68,300
4	$66,000	$82,500
5	$77,360	$96,700
6	$88,720	$110,900

You can also qualify for CARE if someone in your home is enrolled in programs such as CalFresh (SNAP), Medi-Cal, WIC or SSI.^[source] You apply through your utility; SCE says "No additional documentation is required" to apply.^[source]

How the discount changes the math

Here's SDG&E, with and without the discounts, for our example kit:

Estimated savings on SDG&E

Plan	Rate used	Savings per year	Payback
Standard rate, no discount	52¢/kWh	$412	2.4 years
Standard rate, CARE	32.76¢/kWh	$259	3.9 years
Standard rate, FERA	42.64¢/kWh	$338	3.0 years

The kit makes the same amount of power either way. The difference is the value of each kWh. To see your own numbers, open the savings calculator and choose your discount.

Before you buy

• Check the kit's price against the payback for your discount. A cheaper, smaller kit can make more sense on CARE.
• Make sure the kit qualifies under SB 868, and that your landlord agrees if you rent. See our guide for renters.