Pacific Gas & Electric has grabbed headlines in recent months for the huge rate increases that it claims are needed to pay for safety improvements to its system.
Those increases are affecting Ava Community Energy customers, who pay Ava for electricity and pay PG&E to have it delivered. In fact, Ava customers pay twice as much to PG&E to have power delivered as they do for the electricity itself. Ava’s own charges have risen only a little, even as we expand our portfolio of clean energy and ramp up our local programs. But overall bills for Ava customers are rising, in large part due to higher PG&E charges.
In our recent newsletter, we went in depth on how rates are designed, how expenses are allocated, and what is driving rate increases. The California Energy Markets audience likely knows most of that already, so I’m going to focus on a few toplines.
David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission, outlined his vision for the state’s future in San Jose this week, saying that crisis, danger and opportunity exist hand in hand.
“It’s a beautiful future,” Hochschild said, mentioning a recent visit to Oslo and how it is 15 years ahead in terms of the prevalence of electric vehicles. He said he was struck by not only the reductions in emissions and pollution, but also noise in Oslo.
“This is the future we’re going to build for our state,” Hochschild said to a packed house at the California Community Choice Association‘s annual conference. He was introduced in glowing terms by CalCCA CEO Beth Vaughan.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2024-04-19 16:03:142024-09-06 17:14:46‘Crisis,’ ‘Danger’ and ‘Opportunity’—California’s Vision of the Electric Future
Since the start of 2024, numerous California Choice Energy Authority (CalChoice) member agencies have ushered in an exciting new program for residential customers. Launched in partnership with Tesla and Participate. Energy, the Power Choice program gives customers the opportunity to benefit from solar and battery storage without the upfront cost of installing and owning a system.
CalChoice turned to Tripepi Smith for communications and outreach to educate community members about the program’s advantages and enrollment process. This effort facilitated the swift introduction of the program by Lancaster Energy (LE) Pico Rivera Innovative Municipal Energy (PRIME), Pomona Choice Energy, Rancho Mirage Energy Authority (RMEA), San Jacinto Power (SJP), Apple Valley Choice Energy (AVCE), and Energy for Palmdale’s Independent Choice (EPIC) in their respective territories.
“We’re grateful for Tripepi Smith’s partnership in promoting our Power Choice program,” said Jason Caudle, Executive Director of CalChoice. “Their valuable expertise has been instrumental in creating a suite of materials, including web content, videos, press releases, and social media assets, to raise awareness effectively.”
Tripepi Smith Senior Business Analyst Karen Villaseñor led the charge along with support from Business Analysts Charlie Mounts and Peter Johnson and Junior Business Analysts Olivia Rizzuto and Kiran Kruse. Together, the team developed a comprehensive communications strategy tailored to residents. In Pico Rivera, Tripepi Smith also incorporated a digital adversitment campaign to further amplify PRIME’s online message.
“It has been a pleasure working with CalChoice and its member agencies to help spread the word about this innovative program,” said Karen. “It is always rewarding to work on impactful projects alongside CalChoice and its member agencies. I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far and look forward to witnessing the Power Choice program’s growth and expansion in member agency regions.”
About California Choice Energy Authority
In 2017, the City of Lancaster and the City of San Jacinto joined forces to create the California Choice Energy Authority (CalChoice), a hybrid joint powers authority (JPA) designed to help cities in Southern California Edison territory participate in CCA without sacrificing local control. CalChoice is committed to providing cleaner and more affordable energy options to customers across Southern California.
About Tripepi Smith
Tripepi Smith is a California-based marketing, technology and public affairs firm that serves for-profit, nonprofit and public agencies. Its unique mix of marketing and technology prowess provides a competitive advantage to agencies seeking to leverage the internet to achieve their communication goals. The firm provides full content creation services, including: ghost writing, collateral development, photography, video production, aerial imagery, search engine optimization, email marketing campaigns and website design and execution.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2024-03-22 16:15:462024-09-06 17:15:15CalChoice Associate Members, Apple Valley Choice Energy (AVCE) and Santa Barbara Clean Energy (SBCE) Launch the Electriq Program
Apple Valley Choice Energy (AVCE), the Town’s locally-operated electrical power provider, celebrated its five-year anniversary on April 1, 2022. AVCE currently serves 23,164 residential customers and 2,403 commercial customers throughout the Town.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2022-05-04 16:14:142024-07-23 16:18:59Apple Valley Choice Energy Celebrates its Five-Year Anniversary
Beginning April 1, Apple Valley residents will have a choice when it comes to their electrical provider when the Town of Apple Valley launches the Apple Valley Choice Energy Program.
Residential customers will see a 3 percent reduction in energy rates to start and CARE customers will realize approximately 13 percent in savings.
To learn more about the program, its benefits and all of the choices available, the public is invited to attend a community forum on March 7 at the Apple Valley Conference Center, 14975 Dale Evans Parkway.
A brief presentation followed by a question and answer period with program directors will be offered in two sessions beginning at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Participants will learn about this new collaboration with Southern California Edison that saves residents money and maintains programs like CARE and Level Pay.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2017-03-07 15:56:422017-03-09 16:21:54Town of Apple Valley Holds Community Forum
Hate the high cost of utilities? So does the Town of Apple Valley…and we are doing something about it.
Apple Valley Choice Energy (AVCE) is Apple Valley’s, locally-operated, locally-controlled electrical power provider. Made possible by Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), AVCE offers Town residents and businesses a viable alternative to traditional investor-owned utilities. As a municipal service, we offer rates that are typically more affordable than Southern California Edison (SCE), and with a higher percentage of renewable content.
AVCE seeks only to find the best sources of reliable and renewable energy at the lowest possible price and procure it for our customers. Instead of building costly infrastructure, we’ve collaborated with SCE to have them deliver our greener, more affordable power to electricity customers. There are no duplicate charges because we each provide unique services. AVCE procures electricity while SCE delivers that energy to your doorstep, maintains and repairs the infrastructure that carries it, and provides you with convenient customer services including billing.
Through the CCA process, we anticipate rate savings for our citizens. The Town Council is committed to providing Apple Valley residents, businesses and organizations with cleaner, and reliable energy at an affordable rate. The rates of an investor-owned utility are set by the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco. Instead, each year the Apple Valley Town Council will conduct a rate-setting process based on the projected energy costs for that year. This process is held at public hearings during the Town Council’s regularly scheduled meetings. The public is invited to attend.
“We won’t be manufacturing power, or building an energy plant. We are simply buying energy at a competitive price and passing the savings on to citizens and businesses,” explained Public Services Manager Joseph Moon.
The Town Council has approved an implementation plan for the CCA that is now under review with the CPUC. Residents and businesses in Apple Valley will receive at least four notices to explain the plan and their options before the program rolls out in April 2017.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2017-01-06 23:22:022017-01-06 23:28:48A choice brings savings for AV residents
Apple Valley is making a change for the better starting April 1, 2017. This is when Apple Valley Choice Energy (AVCE) will become the Town’s primary energy provider, giving residents and businesses the power to choose lower, stable energy rates, cleaner energy and local control.
AVCE has collaborated with Southern California Edison (SCE) to ensure you receive this cleaner power through SCE’s existing lines and just one bill, which includes charges for both AVCE’s power and SCE’s services. SCE will also maintain the lines and respond to any outages which may occur, as they do now. SO you get the best of both providers: cleaner, more cost-effective power under local control and the convenience of a single source for billing and service requests.
Residents will begin receiving 35% renewable content and low costs through AVCE’s Core Choice program. You also have the option of moving up to More Choice, with 50% renewable content. The Your Choice program allows those generating renewable power on site to continue in a program similar to SCE’s net zero metering. Because the choice is in your hands, if you prefer to stay with SCE, you can opt out of AVCE programs entirely.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2017-01-02 23:21:352017-01-06 23:27:36Apple Valley Choice Energy offers “A Better Choice”
AB 117 permits cities, counties, or a Joint Power Authority (JPA) whose governing boards have elected to act as Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) to purchase and sell electricity on behalf of utility customers within their service area(s) or the Kings River Conservation District, the Sonoma County Water Agency, and any California public agency possessing statutory authority to generate and deliver electricity at retail within its designated jurisdiction.
Under CCA Service, a CCA is solely responsible for procuring and providing for their customers’ electric power needs (including ancillary services), ensuring resource adequacy and renewable portfolio requirements, and scheduling and settling with the CAISO. CCAs are required to meet certain requirements with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in addition to meeting financial and technical requirements with us. The documentation contained within the CCA pages provides information a CCA needs to enroll and operate within our territory.
Many states passed CCA laws as part of electric restructuring legislation in the late 1990s and early 2000s. States that have passed CCA laws include California (2002), Illinois (2009), Massachusetts (1997), New Jersey (2003), Ohio (1999), and Rhode Island (1997). There are many reasons that a community may choose to develop a CCA, including the option to purchase more green power, reduce electricity cost, and provide power from more local sources. For 2013, approximately 2.4 million customers participating in CCAs that source renewable energy, totaling more than 9 million MWh of renewable energy.
Most CCAs are “opt-out” entities, meaning that the customer is by default part of the aggregation unless the customer opts-out. This opt-out arrangement has given community aggregation entities much higher participation rates than utility green power programs. The lowest participation rate for opt-out programs that offer a renewable energy component is around 75% compared to the highest participation rates in the low twenties for the most successful opt-in utility green power programs.
https://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.png00inbounddesignhttps://avchoiceenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/logo-background-semi-trans2.pnginbounddesign2016-12-16 23:21:072017-01-06 23:27:40What is a CCA and why do we have one?
