The official 2026 rate is 0.591 cents per kilowatt-hour
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Many PG&E customers in Kern County pay a California Wildfire Fund charge through their electricity rates. The Department of Water Resources’ final 2026 notice sets the charge at $5.91 per megawatt-hour—equal to $0.00591, or 0.591 cents, for each kilowatt-hour of covered electricity delivered beginning January 1.
That works out to approximately $2.96 for 500 kilowatt-hours of covered use, $4.43 for 750 kilowatt-hours or $5.91 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours. Those examples isolate this one charge; they are not estimates of a customer’s total PG&E bill, which also includes energy, delivery and other approved costs.
The charge rises with covered usage rather than appearing as the same flat amount for every household. PG&E tariff language says it applies to retail sales but excludes California Alternate Rates for Energy and Medical Baseline sales. Customers should check their own rate classification because account circumstances can differ.
What the money actually supports
The charge supports California's Wildfire Fund, an insurance-style pool created by Assembly Bill 1054 after catastrophic utility fires and PG&E's bankruptcy. The fund can reimburse participating utilities for eligible third-party damage claims from covered fires after specified legal and financial conditions are met.
It is not a direct contribution to the Kern County Fire Department, and it should not be confused with every wildfire-safety expense in PG&E rates. Undergrounding, vegetation management, equipment replacement and local firefighting are separate activities with separate funding paths.
The Department of Water Resources says the charge supports bonds used to capitalize the fund. Its 2026 notice projects approximately $908.9 million in collections for the year, while the underlying annual revenue requirement is $902.4 million through 2035; the yearly calculation includes financing adjustments. Investor-owned utilities that joined the fund also made shareholder-supported contributions.
The charge began in 2020, not this month
State lawmakers created the framework in 2019, and the Wildfire Fund Charge became effective October 1, 2020. PG&E's tariff says it replaced an older Department of Water Resources bond charge rather than appearing on top of that prior charge.
The distinction matters because a Bakersfield resident may notice the cost now without it being a newly enacted September 2026 fee. The rate is recalculated for annual collection periods; the official 2026 notice establishes the amount used for this year’s covered electricity deliveries.
Local reaction reported by 23ABC shows that some residents did not know the charge existed. That is a transparency problem worth addressing, but unfamiliarity alone does not establish that PG&E imposed the charge without state authorization. The CPUC approved the charge and DWR calculates the annual rate used to collect it.
Read the source: California Public Utilities Commission: Wildfire Fund overview ↗
Why the policy remains contested
The Wildfire Fund is designed to compensate eligible victims more quickly and prevent a catastrophic fire from destabilizing an investor-owned utility. Critics argue that ratepayers should not shoulder costs connected to utility-caused disasters; supporters say a shared fund protects victims and customers from bankruptcy-driven uncertainty.
Those arguments have become more urgent as lawmakers debate whether the fund has enough capacity for future disasters. CPUC says PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric elected to participate and were required collectively to contribute $10.5 billion. Ratepayer-backed financing supplies the other major pool of capital, leaving unresolved questions about victim compensation, utility responsibility and future customer exposure.
For Kern customers, the immediate facts are narrower: the 2026 charge is usage-based, it supports eligible catastrophic-wildfire claims, and it is only one of several wildfire-related costs that can affect electric rates. What’s the Scoop With Broach will update this explainer if the state changes the rate, exemptions or fund structure.
Read the source: California Wildfire Fund: Terms, claim eligibility and charge explainer ↗
Sources and further reading
California Department of Water Resources: Wildfire charge program and annual revenue requirement ↗
California Department of Water Resources: official 2026 Wildfire Nonbypassable Charge notice ↗
California Public Utilities Commission: Wildfire Fund overview ↗
California Wildfire Fund: Terms, claim eligibility and charge explainer ↗
PG&E tariff: Wildfire Fund Charge, effective date and exemptions ↗
23ABC: Bakersfield residents react to the charge ↗
Wikimedia Commons: Thomas Fire photograph and CC BY 2.0 license ↗