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SGIP: California's state battery incentive program (general market closed)

SGIP, the Self-Generation Incentive Program, is California's state-run battery incentive program, administered through the CPUC. Its General Market residential budget is closed as of 1 October 2026, so it is not generally available. The tier was roughly $150 to $200 per usable kWh, and the Equity Resiliency tier pays up to about $1,000 per kWh for qualifying high-fire-threat or medical-baseline homes when funded. AB 209 equity budgets for income-qualified customers are open or waitlisted in some territories; the Equity Resiliency tier's current status is not confirmed here.

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SGIP is California's state-run battery incentive program, but its General Market residential budget is closed as of 1 October 2026. Step 7 is closed in the CSE, SCE, SoCalGas and PG&E territories, per the SGIP program metrics tracker. Only the AB 209 Residential Solar and Storage Equity budgets for income-qualified customers are open or waitlisted in some territories. With the federal homeowner credit also gone, most Californians buying a battery outright should not count on a statewide rebate.

What SGIP is

SGIP is the Self-Generation Incentive Program, run by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) through the major utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, and SoCalGas). It pays a rebate based on your battery's usable capacity in kilowatt-hours. More usable kWh, larger rebate. It comes in tiers (CPUC SGIP, verified 2026):

  • General Market: roughly $150 to $200 per usable kWh when funded. This is the standard tier, and its residential budget is currently closed.
  • Equity Resiliency: up to roughly $1,000 per usable kWh, for homes in high fire-threat districts or on a medical baseline. This tier is far richer because it targets households where an outage is a safety risk. This tier was closed in all four territories as of October 1, 2026. AB 209 equity budgets for income-qualified customers are mostly waitlisted.
Figure - Two rebate tiers, both closedIllustrative - per usable kWh
SGIP rebate per usable kWh: two tiers compared Two qualifying California homes drawn to scale by SGIP rebate per usable kilowatt hour. The Maple Street general market home earns about 150 to 200 dollars per usable kWh, while the Ridgeline fire zone equity resiliency home earns up to about 1,000 dollars per usable kWh, a stack several times taller. Both tiers were closed as of October 1, 2026. SGIP RATES, BOTH TIERS CLOSED OCT 2026 drawn to scale, illustrative dollars $0 $500 $1000 MAPLE STREET GENERAL MARKET HOME CLOSED $150 to $200 per usable kWh, illustrative RIDGELINE EQUITY RESILIENCY HOME HIGH FIRE THREAT, MEDICAL BASELINE CLOSED up to ~$1,000 per usable kWh, illustrative BOTH TIERS CLOSED AS OF OCT 1 2026; INCOME-QUALIFIED EQUITY BUDGETS ONLY
SGIP paid a rebate scaled to a battery's usable kWh: General Market roughly $150 to $200 per usable kWh, and the Equity Resiliency tier up to about $1,000 for qualifying high-fire-threat homes. Both tiers were closed as of October 1, 2026; only income-qualified equity budgets remain, most of them waitlisted. Dollar values are illustrative and drawn to scale; check the SGIP tracker (selfgenca.com).

The program is funded in steps, the money is limited, and budgets close when they are fully reserved. Confirm current availability and your tier on the SGIP tracker and with your installer and utility before counting on a specific amount.

What changed for a 2026 buyer

The federal residential clean-energy purchase credit (Section 25D), the one homeowners used to claim on a battery they bought, expired on December 31, 2025. A 2026 cash buyer of a home battery gets nothing from the federal government. There is no federal rebate or credit on an outright residential purchase anymore.

The only surviving federal pathway is Section 48E, and it applies to commercial or third-party-owned systems, not to a homeowner who buys. That route runs through a lease or PPA, where a company owns the battery and can claim the credit itself.

So for most Californians buying a battery outright in 2026, there is no generally available statewide or federal incentive. Income-qualified households are the exception, where an equity budget may still be open.

How to use it

Treat SGIP as conditional. The dollars are meaningful in the equity tiers, but they depend on funding availability and your eligibility, neither of which you should assume. Get your tier and the current per-kWh amount confirmed in writing by your installer, and verify against the SGIP tracker.

When you model the economics, fold any confirmed rebate into the upfront cost, not the savings, and leave it out if you are not eligible. Our Worth It calculator models a California payback with no SGIP rebate, because the general budget is closed. For the surrounding context, the export rules that push Californians toward storage are covered in NEM 3.0, and the full state picture is in the California report.