Our Positions
Legislative
Our Position on Resolution E-4907 - December 2017
In a stealth attack on Community Choice, the CPUC will vote on January 11 on a draconian resolution that would freeze new Community Choice programs. Our take? Further evidence that the CPUC is doing the IOUs' bidding to halt, delay or otherwise strangle local programs. We argue that the resolution constitutes biased regulatory overreach and should be withdrawn.
NO on AB 813 (Bradford) - September 2017
Calls for a NO vote on this measure which would require investor-owned utilities to procure long-term renewable energy contracts at today's rates, then pass those costs on to Community Choice customers.
YES on SB 692 (Allen) - April 2017
Calls for a YES vote on SB 692, which will make local renewable projects more competitive, leveling the playing field by ensuring proper allocation of transmission access charges to Community Choice programs based on their actual usage. Please See: SB-692 Background Information
NO on SB 618 (Bradford) - April 2017
Calls for a NO vote on SB 618, which would tie the hands of Community Choice energy programs by putting approval of their integrated resource plans in the hands of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), an agency that has demonstrated strong bias towards monopoly utilities and against Community Choice.
AB-1110 - August 2016
Opposes Assembly Bill 1110 as a convoluted, confusing, and biased prescription for reporting greenhouse gas emissions by retail energy suppliers in California.
Regulatory
Code of Conduct - March 2018
The Investor-Owned Utilities have attacked the central feature of the Code of Conduct, by petitioning the CPUC to remove the prohibition against lobbying with ratepayer funds. The Background paper describes the origin of the Code of Conduct and the history of IOU violations, CCA complaints and CPUC inaction.
Our Position on Customer Choice - November 2017
Responds to the CPUC's October 2017 workshop on "California Customer Choice." Enumerates the many ways in which California's approach to customer choice--centered on Community Choice energy programs--provides a more compelling model of competition, community engagement, and consumer protection than the failed retail market approach adopted in the 1990s.
CPUC Bias - March 2017
State law requires that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) support Community Choice programs and enforce utility cooperation with such programs. Yet the CPUC has repeatedly flouted this imperative, as detailed in this report, exhibiting a bias against Community Choice in favor of monopoly utilities.
TAC - February 2017
Proposes an urgent fix for the current Transmission Access Charge (TAC) market distortion. This distortion inhibits vital, community-based renewable energy development and severely limits the benefits that Community Choice programs can deliver to the communities they serve.
SDG&E Marketing Division - July 2016
Opposes a proposal adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission which allows San Diego Gas & Electric to circumvent California's Community Choice law by setting up a separate division to market against Community Choice initiatives.
PCIA - March 2016
Calls for sunsetting the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA)--an ongoing charge to Community Choice customers imposed by the monopoly utilities to recover the costs of energy that these utilities procured for customers who have departed to Community Choice programs.
Community Choice Practices
Guide to Creating State-of-the-Art Community Choice Programs - January 2018
Written for Community Choice advocates and practitioners, the Guide puts our values and principles at the center of organizing efforts to realize the local benefits a well-designed Community Choice program can provide.
Utility-Grade Energy Services - October 2017
Reaction to the rapid expansion of Community Choice programs has challenged new and existing programs to offer more sophisticated energy procurement and risk management strategies. This paper examines an approach that shows potential for helping to optimize benefits while managing regulatory and market uncertainties.
California Choice Energy Authority - October 2017
California Choice Energy Authority (CCEA) is a new entity formed by the City of Lancaster to offer Community Choice start-up services especially to smaller communities. Points to areas of concern with this offering and raises questions that communities evaluating CCEA contracts should understand before moving forward.
Key Values and Principles - May 2017
A set of values and principles that are the basis of the Community Choice program practices for which we advocate.
Good Energy Inc - October 2016
Points out the risks posed to communities by the fully outsourced Community Choice program model being offered by Good Energy, Inc.
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Join The Alliance
Membership Criteria
Membership in the Alliance is open to individuals and/or their affiliated organizations that are committed to the Alliance Mission and Organizational Practice. This may include local, regional, or statewide Community Choice advocates and organizations, new Community Choice program initiatives, existing Community Choice programs, consultants, unions, local government staff/officials, and others.
Alliance Mission
The mission of the California Alliance for Community Energy is to support and defend Community Choice Energy programs in California that advance local clean energy for the environmental and economic benefit of our communities.
Organizational Practice
The standard we expect all participants to uphold:
The Alliance is made up of advocates and supporters committed to developing local renewable energy resources and clean energy jobs through Community Choice energy programs. The Alliance provides a forum for respectful and productive discourse among a diverse group of stakeholders to: build relationships, share resources, educate each other about issues and challenges, and organize against threats.
Joining the Alliance
New members may join at the discretion of the List Moderator and Steering Committee. New members can be vouched for by an existing member (or vetted by the List Moderator) and are expected to uphold the Mission and Organizational Practice of the Alliance. Individuals who are employees of, consultants to, or lobbyists for Investor Owned Utilities (IOU) are not eligible.
Leadership Team
Al Weinrub
The mission of the LCEA is to promote the equitable development and democratization of local renewable energy resources.
Erica Etelson
Advocating for the City of Berkeley to participate in Alameda County’s Community Choice program.
Erika Morgan
Advocating for an accelerated transition to a clean energy economy in San Diego, Southern California, and beyond.
Barbara Stebbins
Advocating for Community Choice energy programs in the East Bay that serve to spur equitable economic development.
Amy Butte
As a member of the CCA Subcommittee of Santa Monica's Task Force on the Environment, Amy advocates for local Community Choice energy programs in SoCal.
Eric Veium
Providing education and outreach in service of a commitment to local clean energy for communities within San Luis Obispo County.