Utility Cost Allocation in Leases (PG&E 613)

Recurring monthly services for unit 613 (settling Jai’s cohort), and how to size them for a lease. Decision (2026-06-22): all four services are included in rent.

Defining facts (2026-06-22): 613 has no separate meter — electric, gas, or water — so it draws on the property’s shared master meters, and the PG&E account below is the whole-property bill. Jai’s cohort will be 4 of 4.25 residents = 94.1%, which sets the allocation key. This largely resolves the inclusion shape: a shared master meter makes Passthrough impossible (can’t hand a master account to the cohort) and Submeter an impractical install (especially gas/water); and “included = flat” rules out variable RUBS billing. So the live choice narrows to Flat-include the cohort’s 94.1% share (optionally Flat + cap), using the RUBS ratio only as the basis for that flat figure.

PG&E figures are grounded in account (account on file) “Bill Charges” (24 monthly bills, Jul 2024–Jun 2026, extracted 2026-06-22 from myaccount.pge.com); the water figure is grounded in the property’s own SqCWD bill ($127.37/mo, 5/8” meter, at the current 1.75 residents) plus Jai’s household usage for the occupancy projection; rate tiers are grounded in PG&E and Soquel Creek Water District primary tariff documents (see Sources).

Monthly services bundle (all included in rent)

All figures are on the shared master meter, allocated to the cohort by its 94.1% headcount share (4 of 4.25 residents).

Allocation basis: the cohort is 4 of 4.25 residents (94.1%), so each master bill is allocated at 94.1% — and since the cohort is ~94% of the household, a flat-included figure recovers nearly the whole master bill through their rent, with the landlord bearing the variance. Greenwaste and AT&T are flat (no swing, no moral hazard); PG&E and water are variable, right-skewed, and moral-hazard-exposed — water’s tiers actively penalize overuse (Tier 3 $20.35/unit, about 77% above Tier 1), and summer irrigation raises that exposure. The water meter size is now confirmed 5/8” (fixed $100.92): an actual SqCWD bill reads $127.37 for one month at the property’s current 1.75 residents — exactly $100.92 + 2.3 units × $11.50, validating the rates with no surcharges. The water figure above is the annual mean at the future 4.25 residents including light summer irrigation (see Appendix B), and is the one line that still moves with realized usage.

Visual

PG&E — the grounded values (24-month actuals)

Quartiles (linear interpolation): Q1 $133.40 · Q2 $180.12 · Q3 $307.95 · IQR $174.56. The distribution is right-skewed (winter Dec–Mar $276–$391; spring/fall lows $70–$135), so the mean sits above the median.

Which 12 months — trailing 12 (Jul ‘25–Jun ‘26): total $2,325.44, ÷12 = $193.79 (current rate structure). Prior 12: $2,802.58, ÷12 = $233.55 (about $40/mo higher, pre-March-2026 rates).

The five allocation structures (PG&E and water)

These apply to the variable services — PG&E and water; the flat services (Greenwaste, AT&T) are simply included at cost. Because 613 is on a shared master meter, #3 and #5 are off the table and #4 conflicts with flat inclusion — leaving #1 Flat (recommended) or #2 Flat + cap, sized at the 94.1% share. Each row answers: who absorbs the variance, the rate inflation, and the moral-hazard load?

Why the “included” PG&E figure is the mean, not the median

When PG&E is included in rent, the landlord pays every dollar of the real bill over the year, so the figure to recover is annual total ÷ 12 = the mean. On right-skewed data the median under-recovers: charging the median ($180/mo) collects about $2,161/yr but pays about $2,564/yr — the landlord eats about $400/yr. The same mean-not-median logic applies to water once 613’s usage is known — its tiered structure makes the high-usage tail even steeper.

Recommendation — flat-include the cohort’s 94.1% share

Bake the cohort’s 94.1% share of the master bills into flat rent: about $540/month all-in — PG&E ≈ $201 (24-mo mean) + Greenwaste $108.96 + AT&T $90.31 + Water ≈ $140 (annual mean incl. light summer irrigation). At the buffered ~$200 PG&E figure it is about $527/mo.

Why flat, not RUBS billing: 613’s shared master meter rules out Passthrough and makes Submeter an impractical install, and “included in rent” means a fixed figure — so the RUBS 94.1% ratio serves only as the basis for the flat amount, not as ongoing variable billing.

Consider Flat + cap for the variable lines (PG&E, water): the actual water bill ($127.37) is at the property’s current 1.75 residents, so the whole-property bills will rise as the cohort fills it to 4.25 — and water peaks across the Jun–Oct irrigation season — meaning history understates the future. A cap with billback on extreme overage (or a first-year true-up) limits the landlord’s downside. The meter size is now confirmed (5/8”), so the prior $658 ceiling is off the table; the remaining variable is realized usage/season.

Appendix A — PG&E rate tiers for Aptos (Baseline Territory T) · grounded

Grounded — sources: PG&E tariff PDFs (E-1, E-TOU-C, G-1) + baseline & Base Services Charge pages, retrieved & verified 2026-06-22 (see Sources).

Aptos is in PG&E Baseline Territory T (coastal Santa Cruz). Default residential plan = E-TOU-C (time-of-use, Peak 4–9pm every day); legacy tiered E-1 available by election.

E-1 tiered (eff 2026-06-01): Tier 1 (0–100% baseline) $0.32561/kWh; Tier 2 (over baseline) $0.40702/kWh.

E-TOU-C (eff 2026-06-01): Summer (Jun–Sep) Peak $0.52240 / Off-Peak $0.39940; Winter (Oct–May) Peak $0.39757 / Off-Peak $0.36757; baseline credit −$0.08140/kWh.

Baseline allowance — Territory T (kWh/day): Basic (gas+electric) 6.5 summer / 7.5 winter; All-Electric 7.1 / 12.9.

Base Services Charge (income-graduated fixed charge, NEW eff 2026-03-01): Tier 1 (CARE) about $6/mo · Tier 2 (FERA) about $12/mo · Tier 3 (default) about $24.12/mo ($0.79343/day).

Gas G-1 (eff 2026-06-01): Baseline $2.38935/therm, Excess $2.89247/therm — gas service to this specific premise unconfirmed.

Caveat: much of Santa Cruz County uses Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) for generation with PG&E delivery; if 613’s account is on 3CE, the generation component is replaced by 3CE + PCIA and totals differ. Rates change about quarterly; re-verify after Sep 2026.

Appendix B — Soquel Creek Water District tiers (anticipated) · grounded

Grounded — sources: Soquel Creek Water District 2026 Rates Schedule, Rates & Fees, 2023 Rate Study, retrieved & verified 2026-06-22 (see Sources).

SqCWD serves Aptos. Billing is monthly; billing unit = 748 gallons (1 HCF). Current rates eff 2026-01-01.

Volumetric tiers (single-family, per 748-gal unit, monthly): Tier 1 (0–3.99 units) $11.50 · Tier 2 (4–7.99) $12.90 · Tier 3 (8+) $20.35.

Fixed monthly service charge: standard 5/8” residential meter $100.92/mo (restricted 5/8” for under-640-sq-ft dwelling $56.13; 1” $235.27). The fixed charge dominates a typical low-usage bill.

Increases: +12% Jan 2025, +12% Jan 2026 (current), +12% scheduled Jan 2027. No drought surcharge currently billed (district may impose Stage 0–5 emergency rates by board action).

Estimate for 613 — grounded in the property’s actual bill. A current SqCWD bill: $127.37 for one month at the property’s current 1.75 residents = $100.92 fixed (confirms 5/8” meter) + 2.3 units × $11.50 (Tier 1). This validates the rates exactly, with no surcharges, and gives a real per-capita of 1.3 units/person.

Projecting to the future 4.25 residents: indoor base ≈ 3.5–5.6 units (low end = the cohort’s own ~0.8 units/person from Jai’s household; high end = this property’s current 1.3 units/person), i.e. master ≈ $141–167 → cohort 94.1% ≈ $133–158. Adding light summer irrigation (rest of June through ~October; “not much, but some” — modest Tier-2 spillover those ~5 months) lifts the annual mean to roughly $150 master → $140/mo cohort. The fixed $100.92 is locked; only the volumetric/seasonal portion moves.

Open questions

• Flat vs Flat + cap for the variable lines (PG&E, water) — the only remaining shape choice. (Resolved: shared master meter — confirmed 5/8” — rules out submeter/passthrough; “included = flat” rules out RUBS billing.)
• Realized water usage at full 4.25 occupancy + summer irrigation — the actual bill ($127.37) is at the current 1.75 residents; the ~$140/mo annual-mean water figure firms up after a few months at full occupancy, especially across the Jun–Oct irrigation season. Argues for Flat + cap or a first-year true-up.

Sources

• PG&E tariffs: pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ ELEC_SCHEDS_E-1.pdf · ELEC_SCHEDS_E-TOU-C.pdf · GAS_SCHEDS_G-1.pdf; pge.com baseline-allowance + base-services-charge pages.
• Soquel Creek Water District: soquelcreekwater.org/DocumentCenter/View/2726 (2026 Rates Schedule) · /166/Rates-Fees · /DocumentCenter/View/2400 (2023 Rate Study).
• PG&E account (account on file), “Bill Charges” history, myaccount.pge.com, extracted 2026-06-22 (the 24-month grounded values).
• Greenwaste $115.77/mo and AT&T Fiber $95.95/mo — provided by Ian, 2026-06-22.
• 613 occupancy = 4 of 4.25 residents; 613 has no separate electric/gas/water meter (shared master) — provided by Ian, 2026-06-22.
• Actual SqCWD bill: $127.37 for one month, 5/8” meter, 2.3 units, at the property’s current 1.75 residents (no surcharges) — provided by Ian, 2026-06-22.
• Water-usage bases: Jai’s current 5-person household ≈ 3,000 gal/mo; light irrigation expected rest-of-June through ~October — provided by Ian, 2026-06-22.