A Perspective on Local Clean Energy
My recent presentation to the North County Climate Change Alliance includes an overview of Community Choice Energy (CCE) implementation experience in California and a discussion of an expanded role for California CCEs beyond bulk electricity procurement.?Here are links:
slide deck - Community Choice Energy - Updating the Vision
recording - https://youtu.be/TF1mYeVPirs
And here is a three paragraph summary:??
California and many other US states began to dismantle for profit electricity supply monopolies in the 1990s.?Then Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts authorized Community Choice Energy (CCE) implementation.?California applied the lessons of early experience in these states and authorized CCE creation in 2002.?California CCEs now provide generation services to over 200 cities and counties having a combined population of 11 million. California CCEs focus on the transition to renewable and/or low carbon sources of electricity generation while keeping electricity generation rates at or below rates investor-owned utilities charge.??
The California CCE focus on bulk electricity purchases may be too narrow.?Disruptive technologies that alter energy supply, transport and usage patterns are coming on stream.?Electric vehicles and rooftop solar create opportunities for local action to capture cost savings and economic, environmental and resilience benefits for CCE member communities.??Other states are now updating the California CCE model just as California updated earlier models, taking the opportunity to mitigate or avoid the impacts of California energy regulatory interventions that throttle investment in clean local energy resources.??
California CCEs are now in a position to develop integrative, mutually beneficial relationships within robust local energy ecosystems created and regulated by cities and counties.?But only if California legislators work with decentralized energy industries to 1) update CCE authorizing legislation and 2) empower an appropriate role for local governments in planning and managing local energy transitions.???