Community Choice Aggregation (Municipally owned utilities)

[KMG365]

Talked to Tony Williams yesterday about a "new" concept (CA law passed in 2002) being touted in San Diego County. He hadn't heard of it, and I could not find any reference to it here, so I assume it hasn't yet been posted about. It is called "Community Choice Aggregation" (CCA) and is a "not-for-profit" utility option created as an alternative to the "for-(huge)-profit" government regulated utility monopolies most of us currently buy our electrons from. CCA's can choose where they buy their power and can incentivize distributed solar and other green technologies while bringing down rates.

If you haven't heard of it, you should educate yourselves about it. Only five states in the nation have the option so far (including CA). In CA, only Marin County has actually gotten one off the ground, but San Francisco is coming online this year. All previous attempts have been continually scuttled by the lobbyists for the big utilities whose multinational parent companies and share holders stand to lose big profits due to the competition.

http://www.sandiegoenergydistrict.org/uploads/9/1/7/4/9174546/sded_foundation_overview.pdf
http://www.sandiegoenergydistrict.org/education.html

This is the best news LEAF and solar owners in San Diego County will hear all year.

 

[DaveEV]

This is awesome - will you start a San Diego specific thread for this topic in the regional sub-forum? Or do you want to make this the regional thread (I can move it) and edit the subject?

 

[KMG365]

This is awesome - will you start a San Diego specific thread for this topic in the regional sub-forum? Or do you want to make this the regional thread (I can move it) and edit the subject?

I'm new to this forum and would defer to your judgement on however you think it works best. I just wanted to get the word out there. There is a San Diego County movement which is gathering great momentum, but there are other others in CA and four other states have passed laws which allow CCA's to form. We need to reach out to everyone to start the conversation or keep it moving forward if it has already started in their area.

It strikes me as this audience is the most fertile ground for planting this seed. Why not spread it as far as possible for the good of the planet? ;-)

I'll have more info after the informational session for city leaders on June 21st. Be sure your elected officials are attending and not succumbing to SDG&E whispering "This is treason!" in their ears.

 

[hgoudey]

Community choice aggregation is a great opportunity to improve choice in electrical power sourcing (renewables). It has been operating successfully in Marin County and is rolling out into other communities, most recently Richmond, CA. Please spread the word and demand for this to spread further. I recently learned that Marin Clean Energy also provides a feed in tariff, so if you produce more solar power than you consume (on an annual basis) you are paid at a price ($0.14/kWh) that is almost three times that of PGE. Not quite retail peak pricing, but still pretty good. The down side is you can't participate in net energy metering and a feed in tariff at the same time, so you give up the 3:1 peakffpeak credit ratio that is advantageous if you produce fewer kWhs than you use. Also, the contract term is 20 years and a lot could change in energy pricing in that time. Still, a 5kW PV system in CA would bring in ~$1000/year in income and could payback the installation in 5-10 years (or probably a bit longer when you factor in the tariff income will be taxed).

Howdy

 

[KMG365]

San Diego's CCA continues to move forward--even more radiply in light of the recent election of San Diego City (strong) Mayor Bob Filner and San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts. The San Diego Energy District (SDED) is applying for a California Energy Commission grant to help make it a reality for everyone in San Diego County (SDG&E's previous monopoly territory). They previously obtained a grant to help pay for the updated feasibility study and with the newly signed confidentiality agreements with SDG&E are moving forward with the study rapidly.