Last SLO County city joins community energy program. ‘It is important to have choice’
The City Council of Atascadero voted unanimously in favor of joining the Central Coast Community Energy program (3CE), a nonprofit organization that pools community electricity and reinvests extra funds in customer cost-savings and local clean energy programs.
Atascadero was the last city in San Luis Obispo County to join the program, according to a presentation by City Clerk and Deputy City Manager Lara Christensen on Tuesday night.
This leaves just the unincorporated parts of San Luis Obispo County out of the energy pool.
Although the Board of Supervisors considered joining 3CE a number of times, they’ve opted against it, meaning the unincorporated communities of the county are not enrolled in 3CE or any other community choice energy aggregation program (CCA), according to a city staff report.
“I think the fact that we are the only city in five counties that is not participating in a CCA is also telling,” Atascadero City Council member Charles Bourbeau said during the Tuesday council meeting.
“It either means we’re the smartest city in five counties or we’re behind the power curve,” he said. “Pun intended, I guess.”
The communities participating in 3CE include Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, as well as cities in SLO and Santa Barbara counties.
Although the Atascadero City Council passed the draft ordinance and resolution to join 3CE, it won’t officially join until January 2024, Christensen said.
Energy users of Atascadero want a choice, council says
The most compelling argument for Atascadero City Council members came down to providing local customers with a choice.
The regional energy program give electricity users the option of purchasing electricity from 3CE, formerly called Monterey Bay Community Energy, or sticking with PG&E.
“For me, this has always been about choice and the opportunity to save money,” Bourbeau said. “If we don’t do this, we are making a choice for our residents: We’re saying you must stay with PG&E — you do not get a choice.”
Mayor Heather Moreno said she was in favor of joining 3CE but wanted the record to show she advances with trepidation.
The mayor said with most of California moving toward adopting energy programs such as 3CE, the state is just moving from investor-run utility providers like PG&E toward government-run utilities.
“Ultimately, we will be back to having no choice,” Moreno warned.
Atascadero Chamber of Commerce President Josh Cross said the chamber was in full support of the city joining forces with 3CE.
“We know lower prices aren’t guaranteed, but we feel it is important to have choice,” Cross said.
3CE energy users have two options for electricity services: 3Cchoice and 3Cprime, according to the staff report.
3Cchoice is the default service and comprises 34% eligible renewable energy from geothermal, solar, wind, biomass and biowaste sources, according to the report.
3Cprime is a 100% renewable energy service and comprises 50% solar and 50% wind generation from California, the report said. It is also more expensive at $0.08 cent more per kilowatt hour.
Customers will still be billed by PG&E, but instead of one line item on their bill there will be a new line item — “3CE Electric Generation Charges” and “Generation Credit,” according to the staff report.
Since Atascadero is not joining 3CE until 2024, the nonprofit cannot provide accurate cost comparison between their rates and PG&E’s rates, because they are expected to fluctuate, officials said.
Robert Shaw of 3CE said current projections show 3CE’s rates will likely be cheaper than PG&E’s in the upcoming years.
How a community choice energy program works
The Central Coast Community Energy Program is one of several California community choice aggregation energy programs.
Energy users who opt in to 3CE will purchase their electricity from the nonprofit instead of PG&E. The nonprofit uses any surplus funds to provide cost savings to the customers and invests in clean energy programs that benefit the participating communities, according to the staff report.
A community choice energy program such as 3CE becomes a nonprofit agency governed by a board that makes decisions about electricity purchasing, programs and rate-setting, the staff report said.
The nonprofit governing board of 3CE is made up of eight full seats and nine shared seats, Christensen said.
Atascadero will share a seat with the city of Paso Robles, she said.
Enrolling in the 3CE program doesn’t change the regional utility provider, which for the Central Coast is PG&E. The utility company still owns the grid and provides billing services for users, according to the staff report.
“We’re purchasing that power and PG&E is delivering that energy,” Shaw said.
Environmental, cost-savings benefits to 3CE communities and customers
The two key benefits of Atascadero joining a program like 3CE are possible cost savings and investing in more clean energy programs.
Sometimes enrolling in a program like 3CE can lead to cost savings for the energy customer, but it’s not guaranteed. Electricity bills may creep higher than what it would have cost to purchase power directly from PG&E, according to the staff report.
So far, 3CE has been able to provide about $17.2 million in cost savings to customers, according to the 3CE website.
“We’ve been able to beat the market, but that will not always be true,” Shaw said.
Discussion among the Atascadero City Council members indicated some skepticism about the potential cost savings that come with enrolling in 3CE, but they said they feel the local energy programs could offer community benefits that may incentivize business development in the city.
“You can be 100% green and be cheaper, and we’ve been able to prove that over time,” Shaw said.
Since 2018, 3CE allocated $26 million to local energy programs, according to the 3CE website.
In 2021-22, 3CE planned to invest $14.1 million, about 4% of its annual revenue, into everything from electrifying transportation, buildings and distributing energy resources, according to the staff report.
Some of these programs include its Electrify Your Ride program, plus other initiatives aimed at school bus electrification, agricultural electrification, workforce development and more, according to the staff report.
“We want to do those things because member agencies are uniquely positioned to have an economic and energy impact,” Shaw said.
During public comment, many community members called in to share their support for 3CE’s investment in local clean energy programs.
Council members voice concerns about the opt-out enrollment model
In January 2024, Atascadero energy users will be automatically enrolled in the 3CE program, Christensen said.
Potential customers will receive four notifications in the mail about being enrolled in 3CE — two before the switch and two after — and be able to opt out without penalty at those times, Christensen said.
Opting out after 120 days could lead to an administrative fee and potentially higher rates for PG&E bundled services for up to one year, she said.
City Councilmember Heather Newsom said because Atascadero supports an older population and many people on fixed incomes, it’s important to communicate the opt-out deadlines so nobody is blindsided by rate fluctuations.
Enrollment in the San Luis Obispo County cities of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Pismo Beach is around 94%, according to the staff report.
The nonprofit did extensive outreach in Spanish and English to inform residents in other communities about the switch to 3CE, including webinars, commercials and visits to local businesses and senior centers, according to 3CE Manager of Energy Account Services Lina Williams.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 12:42 PM.
