Fresno, California
Home Battery Backup in Fresno
PG&E's evening peak runs 4–9 p.m. every day, and a mid-October 2026 storm left more than 9,700 Valley customers without power in an afternoon. A battery covers both the rate window and the outage.
E-TOU-C peak 4–9 p.m. daily · summer peak ~52¢/kWh · GV Wire: 9,702 PG&E customers out in the Fresno area and near Selma on Oct 21, 2026.
The short answer
Fresno takes electric delivery from PG&E. On PG&E's E-TOU-C schedule the peak is 4 to 9 p.m. every day, with summer peak energy around 52¢ per kWh on the current tariff sheet.
Storms are the other half of the case. On October 21, 2026, GV Wire reported 9,702 PG&E customers without power across the Fresno area and near Selma, on 14 separate outages, 13 of them blamed on a storm.
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Tell us your Fresno address, whether you have solar and what must stay on in an outage. We confirm coverage before anyone sizes a battery.
PG&E rates and outages in Fresno
From PG&E's Electric Schedule E-TOU-C and GV Wire's October 21, 2026 storm-outage report.
4–9 p.m. peak, every day
On PG&E's E-TOU-C schedule the peak window is 4 to 9 p.m. every day, year-round. Summer is June 1 through September 30; winter is October 1 through May 31. Off-peak is every other hour.
E-TOU-C: about 52¢ on-peak in summer
PG&E E-TOU-C total bundled energy rates on the current tariff sheet (Advice 7846-E, effective March 1, 2026): summer peak $0.52240 and off-peak $0.39940 per kWh; winter peak $0.39757 and off-peak $0.36757. A baseline credit of $0.08140 per kWh applies to baseline usage, and Income Tier 3 customers pay a Base Services Charge of $0.79343 per day.
Storm outages, not just planned shutoffs
On October 21, 2026, GV Wire reported more than 9,700 PG&E customers without power across the Fresno area and near Selma — 9,702 customers on 14 separate outages, 13 of them attributed to a storm. The largest single outage, near Selma, affected 2,743 customers. Earlier that day, outages had also been reported in Sanger (5,418) and Clovis (more than 7,200) before those appeared resolved on PG&E's map.
Where a battery fits in Fresno
Evening peak shifting and storm backup share the same critical-load panel.
Shift the 4–9 p.m. peak
Because the peak runs every day, a battery charged from midday solar or off-peak grid power can cover evening use year-round — including Fresno's hot-season air-conditioning hours that overlap the window.
Storm and shutoff backup
Valley windstorms and Public Safety Power Shutoffs both drop the line. Refrigeration, internet, medical devices and well pumps are the usual critical-load list; whole-house air conditioning drains a battery fast.
Same utility as San Jose, different outage story
Fresno and San Jose both take delivery from PG&E and see the same E-TOU-C peak window. Fresno's recent published case is a mid-October storm that darkened thousands of Valley customers in an afternoon, rather than a multi-day wildfire shutoff narrative.
Pick circuits, not the whole house
Air conditioning, electric ranges and EV chargers drain a battery fast. Sizing starts from the circuits you need on during an outage or the evening peak.
Fresno next to San Jose and Sacramento
San Jose sits on the same PG&E E-TOU-C peak window. That page's outage case is San José Clean Energy's account of Fall 2019 planned shutoffs, not the October 2026 Valley storm described here.
In Sacramento the utility is SMUD, with a weekday-only 5–8 p.m. peak and a case driven more by winter storms than by PG&E's 4–9 p.m. daily window.
If the question is what comes out of the tap rather than what happens when the line goes down, see Fresno water quality — the City of Fresno's 2025 Annual Water Quality Report.
Where these figures come from
Rates trace to PG&E's filed E-TOU-C tariff; the storm count traces to GV Wire's report of PG&E's outage map on October 21, 2026.
- PG&E — Electric Schedule E-TOU-C (PDF) — Advice 7846-E, effective March 1, 2026; peak 4–9 p.m. every day; total bundled energy rates and base services charges.
- GV Wire — Fresno County storm outages, October 21, 2026 — 9,702 PG&E customers on 14 outages across the Fresno area and near Selma.
- PG&E — Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) — residential storage rebate status; confirm current program status before counting on an incentive.
What a home battery job with us covers
Installation of storage and the backup circuits behind it, with the siting and utility paperwork handled.
Battery installation
Wall or floor-mounted storage installed to the listing and to the residential code sections that govern where it may go.
Backup and critical load panel
Deciding and wiring which circuits stay live, and which must never be on backup — the choice that defines what an outage feels like.
Integration with existing PV solar
Connecting storage to an array that is already on the roof, including whether the existing inverter supports it.
Transfer switch and disconnection
The equipment that separates the house from the grid during an outage, which is what makes backup legal as well as possible.
Siting to code
Location, clearances, separation and impact protection assessed against the adopted code before anything is mounted.
Permit, inspection and utility approval
The electrical permit, the inspection, and the utility's own approval step where storage touches the service.
This is installation work. No runtime, capacity or incentive figure is quoted before your loads and your utility are confirmed. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What the work actually looks like
A battery job is an electrical job. The panel, the circuits and the disconnection are most of it.
Battery backup in Fresno, answered plainly
Who is the electric utility in Fresno?+
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) provides electric delivery in Fresno. Some homes also have rooftop solar; grid-tied inverters still shut down when the line is de-energized unless a battery and isolating transfer device are installed.
When is PG&E's on-peak period on E-TOU-C?+
4 to 9 p.m. every day on Electric Schedule E-TOU-C. Off-peak is all other hours. Summer is June 1 through September 30; winter is October 1 through May 31.
What does E-TOU-C cost per kWh?+
Total bundled rates on PG&E's current E-TOU-C tariff sheet (Advice 7846-E, effective March 1, 2026): summer peak $0.52240, summer off-peak $0.39940; winter peak $0.39757, winter off-peak $0.36757. Baseline usage gets an $0.08140 per kWh credit. A daily Base Services Charge also applies by income tier.
Do solar panels keep my power on in an outage?+
Not on their own. Grid-tied inverters shut down when the grid is down. A battery and an isolating transfer device are what let solar keep chosen circuits running.
Is there a battery rebate in Fresno?+
California's Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) has offered residential storage rebates through PG&E, including higher Equity Resiliency incentives for customers in high fire-threat districts or with repeated PSPS events. PG&E's pages have described general market and equity resiliency applications as closed, with waitlist options — confirm current status before counting on a rebate.
How long will a battery run my house?+
It depends on capacity and which circuits you put on it, so we don't quote a runtime before seeing the panel.
Who installs it, and who is responsible afterwards?+
Seamless Home is the licensed contractor of record on the work it runs. Installation is performed by vetted installing partners engaged as our subcontractors, so the permit, the inspection and any correction notice carry one name. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
Related resources
Home battery backup
The national service page behind this one.
Learn more →Home battery backup in San Jose, CA
The same PG&E E-TOU-C peak, with a San José Clean Energy shutoff case.
Learn more →Home battery backup in Sacramento, CA
SMUD's 5–8 p.m. weekday peak and winter storm outages.
Learn more →Fresno water quality
City of Fresno 2025 water report — hardness, arsenic and nitrate.
Learn more →All home services
Water, battery, HVAC and solar under one licensed contractor of record.
Learn more →Get a free estimate for Fresno
Tell us your address, whether you have solar and which circuits must stay on in an outage. We confirm PG&E-area coverage first — no charge to talk, no obligation.
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