Got a notice about auto-enrolling in 3CE? Clean energy program rolls out to more in SLO County
Starting in January, residents of Atascadero and unincorporated parts of San Luis Obispo County will no longer get their energy from only PG&E.
Instead, their electricity will be generated by Central Coast Community Energy — unless they opt-out of auto-enrollment.
Formed in 2017, Central Coast Community Energy, or 3CE for short, is a locally based clean energy provider serving six cities across SLO County and more in surrounding communities.
On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors received a presentation from the company about its service expansion through the rest of unincorporated SLO County and the city of Atascadero.
“Our Central Coast region and the state has already benefited from the County of San Luis Obispo being a member of Central Coast Community Energy,” CEO Robert Shaw told the board Tuesday.
What does the expansion mean for SLO County residents?
What is 3CE?
According to the company’s website, 3CE purchases its renewable energy from a network of wind, solar and geothermal power plants it has agreement with across southern California as well as a few in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
The provider has a partnership with PG&E, which still handles the transmission, distribution and delivery of power as well as maintaining infrastructure like poles and power lines.
3CE aims to achieve 100% clean energy by 2030, 15 years ahead of the state goal. Enacted in 2018, Senate Bill 100 requires California to fully rely on renewable energy sources by 2045.
Central Coast Community Energy is on track to meet its goal of 44% clean energy use in 2024 and 60% by 2026, 3CE Chief Communications Officer Catherine Stedman told The Tribune.
3CE provides an array of additional energy programs to the Central Coast.
Last fiscal year, they gave $4 million to help over 2,000 people purchase electric vehicles and also hosted other incentives to help to fund 17 electric school busses and make new housing projects all electric, Stedman told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
As a locally governed public agency, Central Coast Community Energy is “highly accessible” to those it serves, Stedman told The Tribune.
“As a local public agency, we’re right here in your community,” Stedman said. “Our decision makers are your local elected officials.”
Across 3CE’s two operations and policy boards, ten representatives hail from SLO County, including Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis, Arroyo Grande City Manager Matthew Downing, Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino, Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon, SLO County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg and other city council members and county staff.
Central Coast Community Energy has also purchased an office building at 1026 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo and will open a new space downtown next year, Stedman said.
Who is being auto-enrolled for 3CE service in SLO County?
Central Coast Community Energy is already serving six SLO County cities — Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo — as well as residents and businesses in parts of Monterey, San Benito, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz counties.
Now, 3CE is expanding its service to include Atascadero and all unincorporated areas of SLO County. Approximately half of the people living in the new coverage zones are eligible for service by Central Coast Community Energy, Stedman told the board at Tuesday’s meeting.
Even though eligible customers have a choice between sticking with PG&E for their power generation and switching over to the new energy provider, the transition will happen automatically unless they choose to opt-out.
“The act of enrollment is really very easy,” Stedman told the board. “Customers will be automatically transferred to 3CE for service during their regular January billing cycle.”
Stedman said customers who switch over won’t actually stop receiving service from PG&E but rather will become a shared customer. For those households, 3CE will take over the power generation side of their bill while PG&E will continue to handle the transmission, distribution and delivery.
Shared customers’ energy bills will still come from PG&E, with a small adjustment that shows the generation fee paid to 3CE, not PG&E, at no additional cost.
“It’s important for people to know that it is not an additional charge,” Stedman told The Tribune. “It is just replacing what PG&E electric generation charges would be if you were remaining with PG&E as your provider for both generation and transmission and distribution.”
In fact, shared customers might even save money by switching over.
“Throughout 2024, our residential customers have been paying, on average, about 17% less on their generation charge than they would had they stayed with PG&E,” Stedman said.
For those who want to be serviced by Central Coast Community Energy, no action is necessary. The company has already begun auto-enrolling residents in Atascadero and unincorporated SLO County.
3CE will automatically begin providing power and appear on eligible customers’ energy bill starting on their first regular meter-read date after Jan. 1.
This month, the company sent the first of four rounds of informational fliers and emails to new eligible customers in those areas notifying them of their auto-enrollment.
For those who choose to opt-out, they can do so penalty-free until March 1, 2025.
After that date, a $5 opt-out fee will be applied for residential customers and $25 for commercial. Additionally, customers returning to PG&E may be charged a different rate for the first six months. Those who opt-out after March 1 cannot return to Central Coast Community Energy for one year, Stedman said.
In order to opt-out, residents can either do so online or contact Central Coast Community Energy by phone at 1-877-455-2223 or via email at info@3ce.org.
What did SLO County Board of Supervisors say?
Though the SLO County Board of Supervisors did not vote on anything on Tuesday, they did have questions about Central Coast Community Energy.
“People are struggling right now financially,” Supervisor Jimmy Pauling said, emphasizing the cost efficiency of 3CE’s services.
When asked about next year’s cost comparison forecast, Stedman said that while rates are not known for sure, the company expects to maintain a competitive rate of about 15% lower than PG&E’s prices.
Supervisors Debbie Arnold and Legg both expressed concern about support for agricultural customers, which makes up most of 3CE’s new customers in unincorporated SLO County.
“If there’s one community right there that’s really under siege right now cost wise, it is that community,” Legg said.
The expansion will double 3CE’s load of agricultural customers, Legg said.
Stedman said that to support agricultural businesses, 3CE will pilot an hourly flex pricing program that allows farmers to automate their irrigation systems to run during the time of day when energy prices are the lowest.
She said that some customers who participated in the same program launched in Yolo County found 20% savings, but that if SLO County customers don’t save money with the automation, then they will be given a refund.
“Our programs are touching all of our communities,” Stedman said.
