Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-31-2015 B3 Sierra ClubLomeli, Monique Subject: FW: Item 133, March 31 meeting: CCA resolution MAR 3 1 2015 From: Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club [sierraclub8 @gmail.com] Sent: Monday, March 30, 2015 6:10 PM To: Council–ALL COUNCIL MEETING: UL� Subject: Item 133, March 31 meeting: CCA resolution ITEM NO. - - -- — March 30, 2015 SIERRA CLUB FOUNDED 3892 Santa Lucia Chapter P.O. Box 15755 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 (805) 543 -8717 www.santal ucia. sierraclub.ore Dear Councilmembers, We strongly urge you to adopt the resolution on your March 31 agenda supporting the City's participation in an inter jurisdictional investigation into the feasibility of Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and to communicate this support to the County Board of Supervisors and the other cities in the County. We were pleased to advocate for the inclusion of the provision for the evaluation of CCA in your Climate Action Plan, and have been detailing its potential environmental and economic benefits for our region for years. We are sure you have been further informed by Councilwoman Christianson's participation on the CCA Exploration Advisory Committee and through the good offices of SLO Clean Energy. The links to informative videos provided in the Council Agenda Report for this item are also useful. Nevertheless, should any of you want a brief refresher and /or have a preference for the written word, I am including herewith a recent editorial from the San Jose Mercury News, as it is the most succinct and cogent piece we've ever seen on the extraordinary benefits of Community Choice and the reasons why communities should move quickly to obtain those benefits: http://www.mercuMews.com/ot)inion/ci 27792488 / erica - etelson- san- mateo- county_providing- model- community? source = infinite Text copied below. We hope that that City will take this opportunity to provide a formal indication of its desire to participate in the CCA exploration process. Best regards, Andrew Christie, Director Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club P.O. Box 15755 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 (805) 543 -8717 San Mateo County providing model for community choice energy programs By Erica Etelson Special to the Mercury News Local governments in California looking for ways to achieve their climate action goals should take a page from San Mateo County's new community choice energy initiative. Community choice energy programs are nonprofit agencies that consolidate the buying power of local residents and businesses to buy clean electricity. Community choice is very popular in the two counties (Marin and Sonoma) that have already lallnrhPrl nrnvrnmc Rn nnrnllnr that Parifir (Tac Rr FlPrtrirr (PCRrF) is cnenriinu millinnc in Rar.ramPntn trying to put the kibosh on new programs. PG &E's efforts have so far been in vain, but local governments should move quickly to establish community choice programs before the empire strikes back. •7 - W[L1 ^ - -- AT ` - it -- -1-- -1 Al- - - - -,- ^ /i____ --- -3 ` -3 i1_- `i_-- -r11 ti 111 T--- ' -i -'__ OU11 1VIQLCU, L11C UUU11LMb Ul tUd111CUQ, �,7UHU1 I.lUG d11111V1U11Luluy, d11U LIM L;1LIUJ U1 1V1UU11LU111 View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and others are conducting feasibility studies as a first step toward creating community choice programs. San Francisco expects to launch its program by year's end. Within a few years, the majority of California's population could be served by a community choice program or a public utility like Silicon Valley Power, but only if local governments forge ahead with uncharacteristic alacrity. Community choice is a win -win for consumers and the planet. The electricity sector accounts for one - third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Statewide, only 23 percent of the electricity mix of monopoly utilities comes from renewable sources of power. Contrast that with community choice: At io months old, Sonoma Clean Power is a mere babe in the redwoods, yet it has managed to provide its customers with a power mix that, in addition to being cheaper than PG &E's, has 34 percent fewer carbon emissions. Like Sonoma Clean Power, Silicon Valley Power manages to keep electricity rates among the lowest in the state while still offering a nuclear -free power mix that's cleaner than the statewide average. It's amazing what a public utility can accomplish when it's not squandering revenue on shareholder dividends and lavish executive compensation packages. Public antipathy toward the monopoly utilities is mounting, whereas community choice has growing, broad -based appeal: Consumers value the savings; progressives relish the opportunity to wrench control from monopoly utilities; local elected officials drool over the prospect of local green job creation; and conservatives cherish local control and the fact that community choice offers consumers a choice where previously there was none. Another key selling point is that this all comes without any government spending. The startup costs of a new program are fully recoverable once the program launches and starts generating revenue. As large electricity consumers themselves, local governments and school districts in community choice jurisdictions stand to reap substantial savings. A public school district that buys its electricity from Marin Clean Energy shaved $72,000 off its 2013 energy bill. Many Silicon Valley companies, including HP, Apple and Cisco, have aggressive clean energy generation goals. Community choice can help them achieve these goals, and their collective buying power will stimulate the clean energy sector and drive down prices for everyone. According to California Energy Commissioner David Hochschild, every time demand for solar doubles, the price drops by another 20 percent. Already, the cost of renewables in California is the same or less than grid electricity. As wind and solar prices drop further, community choice programs will buy more of it, driving a virtuous cycle in which renewables scale up faster than the planet melts down. Municipalities looking to advance their climate action goals and protect their residents from soaring electricity costs should roll out community choice post haste, before the electricity monopolies find a way to kill it. Erica Etelson is a journalist and founding member of Californians for Energy Choice. She wrote this article for this newspaper.