CCA Digest
CALIFORNIA Roundup, July 2015
A Message from LEAN's Executive Director
Our July Market Call was fabulous! Thanks to all our terrific guest speakers, who shared their updates from the field: Geof Syphers (SCP), Martha Serianz (MCE), and Kathy DeFalco (LCE). We so appreciate your valuable insights and experience!
The success of California's CCA programs is not only motivating more California programs -- it is getting attention all over the place! Marin Clean Energy, Sonoma Clean Power and LEAN Energy have been invited to speak at the United Nation's Climate Change Conference in Paris in December this year. Très Bon!
LEAN Energy has also been consulting with the Redford Foundation, which is producing a documentary that will feature CCA programs as a key component of energy strategies to combat climate change.
These are sure signs that community choice is increasingly recognized as an essential part of our energy future that engages communities, empowers consumers, and supports our environmental values. Go us!
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Status of CCA Program Developments in California
Many California communities continue to move ahead with CCA program development.
Lake County adopted an ordinance in June creating a CCA and, along with
Mendocino and Humboldt Counties, continues to explore program options. The
City of Solana Beach announced that it would engage California Clean Power to conduct a feasibility study and the
Port of San Diego is considering a resolution to create a CCA. The
City of Davis issued a request for proposals in June, to begin the process of conducting a technical study. And we're starting to hear from our inland friends--Butte County and the City of Fresno are showing interest.
Other communities continue through the process of investigating their options and engaging their communities on related issues.
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Key Issues, Opportunities and Challenges
Sonoma Clean Power Kicks Butt!
SCP published its 2014 progress report in early July, showing its 2014 power supplies emit 48% less greenhouse gas than PG&E's 2013 supplies. SCP's portfolio includes no Category 3 unbundled RECs. SCP has already met the state's 2020 renewable energy targets and saved its customers more than $13 million in its first year of operation. That's results!
Click Here to see a recent article on SCP published via The Sonoma County Gazette.
Marin Clean Energy's Amazing Local Build-Out.
Just five years into its operations, MCE has initiated or completed construction on ten renewable projects in its service territory that will serve almost 12,000 residential customers. MCE's energy projects have created 2,400 jobs, with an estimated 750,000 unionized work hours. MCE has so far signed on to more than 190 MW of California renewable resources and will completely phase out purchases of unbundled products (Bucket 3 RECs) in 2016.
Lancaster Choice Energy Launch Debugging.
LCE reports that, as the first CCA in SCE's territory, it has had plenty of challenges. Most of them involve data exchanges and customer bills that failed to include generation charges. LCE's Phase 1 launch is a beta test of sorts, and it expects to have all the glitches worked out by the time it cuts over all (non-opt-out) customer accounts in October.
City of Lancaster's Solar Projects.
Lancaster Clean Energy (LCE) is one component of the City's aggressive local energy strategy with a goal to be energy self-sufficient. The City has already facilitated development of 11 projects that produce more than 77 MW of solar power within city limits. Barbara Boswell, director of LCE, says the plan is to include local solar resources in LCE's supply portfolio.
Click Here to view a recent article on Lancaster's Solar Field Developments via Fierce Energy.
Ongoing Market Challenges. IBEW continues to create challenges for CCA development, currently influencing the pace of analytical work in Alameda County. PG&E has launched a major media campaign which appears to target areas where CCA prospects seems strongest. The messages we have seen focus on happy employees who are your next door neighbors and PG&E's support for renewable energy projects and energy efficiency.
Updating Decision-Makers. As the momentum for CCA programs continues to build in California, LEAN Energy, MCE, SCP and Lancaster Energy Choice have been meeting with key decision makers. The group has met so far with four of the five CPUC Commissioners and members of the Governor's staff. The meetings focused on the status of program development around California and the progress existing CCAs are making in serving local communities and the state's environmental goals. We hope to continue meeting with key policy makers in the coming months.
GHG Truth In Advertising. IBEW Local 1245 has submitted signatures to the City of San Francisco to put its GHG "truth in advertising" initiative on the November 2015 ballot. The initiative claims to clarify how GHG emissions would be calculated and reported for various power supply products -- something we can all get behind. However, the initiative appears to target CleanPowerSF by excusing PG&E from similar reporting requirements. The Sierra Club issued a strongly-worded press release opposing the initiative. More on this as the drama unfolds.
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Regulatory and Legislative Happenings
Only a couple of CPUC updates this month...
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Residential Rate Design --
The CPUC issued a decision on July 3 changing its electric rate design principles, reducing the number of rate tiers from four to two, and imposing a "super user" charge for customers who use more than 400% of baseline allowances. The decision also directs the utilities to design time-of-use rates for implementation in 2018. Customers would be able to opt-out of time-of-use rates. The decision rejected utility proposals to impose fixed bill charges, which was opposed by advocates of behind-the-meter renewable systems. The way these changes may affect CCA customers will depend on whether and how CCAs restructure their own rates to keep their customers and maintain revenues. MCE and SCP report that they are studying the impacts now.
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2016 ERRA - PG&E is proposing significant increases to the PCIA and CAM beginning in 2016. Increases to these rates could have major impacts on CCAs and their customers. As the PCIA goes up, CCAs could be forced to reduce their generation rates in order to remain competitive, which will cut into program reserves and opportunities for local programs and energy projects. SCP and MCE have protested PG&E's application and the pre-hearing conference is scheduled for July 28 at 10am in the Commission's San Francisco hearing room. Please consider becoming a party to the proceeding to lend your more general support to MCE and SCP's work on the technical issues.
At the California Legislature:
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AB 1110 (Ting) -- AB 1110 would implement consistent reporting of greenhouse gas impacts for various power supply products (i.e., the Buckets). While the idea is something we can all get behind, the language in the bill may have unintended consequences from the standpoint of renewables costs and impacts on the value of existing long term supplies. Some have raised concerns that the utilities' "Category 0" unbundled RECs would be treated as bundled products for purposes of greenhouse gas emissions while unbundled RECs that were not grandfathered (that is, those purchased by CCAs) would be discounted. The bill passed the Assembly in June as a routine tax bill and was scheduled for hearing July 13 at 1:30 in Senate Energy, Utilities and Commerce Committee. In that hearing, legislators expressed interest in working with CCAs and others to address some potential unintended consequences of the bill. Please consider sending an "oppose unless amended" letter to the Legislature. Click Here to view LEAN's sign-on letter or draft your own.
If you would like more information or have ideas for collaboration, please contact Kim Malcolm [email protected]
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We'd like to extend an enthusiastic thanks to all our members, whether you're new on the scene or renewing your membership. Your support is critical to our success, and to the success of CCA everywhere.
WELCOME to our newest supporters! We're so happy to have you on board:
New Members
Katherine King
Giselle Stahl
What?
You say you're not a member yet?! You can join through our website
sign-up form, or contact LEAN's Administrative Coordinator, Alison Elliott, at [email protected].
Click
here for our membership flyer information. Or
here for our quick digital brochure, explaining why the work we do is so important.
You can see logos of all our current members on our website HOME page. Please take the time to peruse their websites--you may find some important contacts there.
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Our Consulting Clients
In addition to providing open source informational resources to all interested parties, LEAN Energy US also provides private consulting services to communities involved in CCA development. Whether you're just considering formation, or further along, LEAN can help to flatten your learning curve, provide critical guidance, and prep you for launch in record time. You'll learn from those who have already done it successfully--and all while keeping your profits within the community, to dedicate to local priorities.
Here are some of LEAN's current consulting clients:
Alameda County
City of Lancaster
City of Sunnyvale
San Mateo County
Sonoma Clean Power
Looking for someone to help you get up and running with a CCA in your area? We can help.
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Odds and Ends
Educational Workshops Available
Would a workshop on CPUC regulation or an informational CCA webinar be useful for your working group? LEAN Energy can help!
Our Next Monthly Market Call
Friday, August 14th, 10-11 am
Help Design our Market Calls
We're asking for input and suggestions about what's most important to YOU.
Please
click here
to take our very brief survey, and make sure your voice is heard!
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LEAN Energy Activities in California
Best Practices Cheat Sheet
In case you missed it last month, we're including our "CCA Best Practices" guidelines here again, to help some of our communities along. Created in concert with the operational CCAs in the state, this document explains the models that are currently in use, how each of them works, best practices that have been observed, and a few areas of concern to consider. Because, after all--none of us knows what we don't know yet.
If you're in the early planning stages, this
Best Practices document can help you understand the most critical questions to ask, and how to fashion a program that's best suited to
your community.
CA CCA Assessment Report
Authored by LEAN for the Silicon Valley Community Choice Energy Partnership, this report:
- explains the experiences of Marin and Sonoma County CCAs
- discusses emerging programs in the state
- toplines innovative efforts in program development, energy efficiency and renewables
- explains risks of starting a CCE program
- explains potential environmental impacts of CCE
- offers recommendations about moving ahead in Silicon Valley
Click here to read the full report.
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of the Latest News!
Remember to follow us on facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute news flashes on the CCA marketplace.
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Acronym Cheat Sheet
Are the acronyms and abbreviations driving you crazy? Here's a quick glossary of some frequently used terms:
CAM - Cost Allocation Mechanism
CPUC - California Public Utility Commission
ERRA - Energy Resource Recovery Account
iBank - California Infrastructure & Economic Development Bank
iBEW - Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
JPA - Joint Powers Association
PCIA - Power Charge Indifference Adjustment
REC - Renewable Energy Credit
TOU Rates - Time of Use Rates
CCA vs. CCE - What's the difference? Nothing!
Community Choice Aggregation is sometimes called Community Choice Energy. The first is a legal term; the second is more consumer-friendly.
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