Starting this week, the Clean Energy Alliance added customers in Oceanside and Vista to its list, an expansion that makes the North County-based community choice energy program the 10th largest in California.
The addition increases the Clean Energy Alliance’s (CEA) customer account count to approximately 220,000.
“The creation and expansion of CEA is essential to achieving emissions reduction goals across North San Diego County, and we are proud to welcome CEA to the Alliance,” board chairman David Drucker said in a statement.
Oceanside and Vista will be members of CEA, along with customers in Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Escondido and San Marcos.
CEA is one of 25 community choice energy programs that have sprung up across the state in recent years. Launched as an alternative to investor-owned utilities such as San Diego Gas & Electric, the programs purchase electricity for residents and businesses within their respective jurisdictions.
Created by the California Legislature in 2002, the program also aims to offer a higher percentage of renewable energy at rates competitive with traditional electricity providers.
The Clean Energy Alliance Board aims to achieve at least a 2 percent reduction in generation costs compared to SDG&E.
In the community choice model, the decision to purchase a power contract is the responsibility of local government officials.
But utilities like SDG&E aren’t going away. These companies continue to do everything else besides buy electricity generation, such as maintaining the poles, wires and lines in their respective transmission and distribution systems and handling billing and other customer services.
According to state rules, when a jurisdiction establishes a community energy program, customers are automatically enrolled, but can opt out at no cost if they want to stay with their current investor-owned utility.
So far, Oceanside and Vista have seen very low churn rates among new customers.
At the CEA’s monthly meeting on March 28, CEO Greg Wade cited data showing that opt-out rates in both jurisdictions were less than 1% at the end of February. Preliminary figures for March showed the numbers had risen slightly to 2% overall.
“The majority of the feedback we’re getting is positive,” Wade said, adding, “We also get a lot of comments that are simply saying the rates are too high and how can we get our electricity bills down.”
Oceanside and Vista customers who are enrolled in discount billing programs such as California Alternative Energy Rates, Family Electric Bill Assistance and Medical Baseline will continue to receive these benefits when they transition from SDG&E to CEA.
The Clean Energy Alliance also offers a net energy metering program for customers who install solar power systems on the rooftops of their homes or businesses.
The San Diego region has another community choice energy program, San Diego Community Power, which consists of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa, Imperial Beach, National City, and unincorporated areas of San Diego County.
With a customer base of 950,000, San Diego Community Power is the second-largest community choice energy program in the state.
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