We're thrilled to report that last night the board of directors of East Bay Community Energy, Alameda's new Community Choice power program, voted to offer a 100% renewable electricity choice starting in November 2018! Thank you to the hundreds of Sierra Club members who sent messages and spoke up at the board meeting to achieve this victory.
The locally governed, non-profit EBCE will start serving commercial and municipal customers in June, and residential customers in November. Customers will be automatically enrolled in EBCE's 38% renewable Bright Choice program, which provides more clean energy than PG&E offers at a cheaper rate. But now, thanks to last night's decision, Alameda County residents and businesses will be able to do more for the climate by "opting up" to 100% renewable power. All of California's existing Community Choice programs offer a 100% renewable option, and it usually costs residential customers just $4 or $5 more per month.
Details have not yet been released about how to sign up for the 100% renewable product, but we'll be in touch with Alameda County power customers when more informaion emerges.
The EBCE service area is unincorporated Alameda County and eleven of its cities: Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Oakland, Piedmont, San Leandro, and Union City. Only Newark and Pleasanton opted out of joining EBCE. The City of Alameda is served by its own electric utility.
About the Community Choice model
Community Choice energy (also known as Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA), is a game-changing alternative to investor-owned utilities like PG&E, enabling cities and counties to pool electricity customers to form a local power agency. This means that communities can decide to get their electricity from clean, renewable sources, either by purchasing it on the market, or by developing local resources.
By relying on clean, locally generated electricity, we can speed our transition away from fossil fuels that threaten our climate. We can also cut pollution and foster dependable, efficient, and resilient energy economies. And because CCA programs are locally owned and managed, ratepayer funds are reinvested locally, creating jobs and renewable energy infrastructure like wind and solar.
Since MCE (formerly Marin Clean Energy) became California’s first CCA program in 2010, the model has spread far beyond Marin County. Today California is home to 9 operational CCAs, with many more in progress. According to the California Community Choice Association, by 2020 CCAs are projected to serve 18 million Californians.