In the wake of the Alliance’s annual Steering Committee planning retreat, we’ll discuss with members our plans for the year going forward: Campaigns, initiatives, events and more.  Join us to add your voice to the conversation.

In this call, we continued the debate of last month, with a report on how the “Nuclear Allocation debate” has been pursued in ten Community Choice programs.  Our analysis showed that presentations of the costs and benefits of these “allocations” vary widely in clarity, consistency and transparency.

PG&E’s late 2019 Advice Letter triggered this call with John Geesman, Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility (A4NR).  The discussion covered why PG&E offered to “allocate” nuclear “attributes” to community choice agencies and what impact such allocations might have community choice programs that choose to “accept” them.

A discussion of the pros and cons of converting a Community Choice program into a municipal utility.  Comments will be provided by Gerry Braun, a long-term advocate of local energy resource development, Director of the Integrated Renewable Energy Systems Network (IRESN, Inc.), and Chair of the Valley Clean Energy Community Advisory Committee.

A discussion with members and representatives of Community Choice programs of the impacts and resiliency needs of customers affected by “planned blackouts”.  To participate, join the Alliance, here. 

Members from communities with active Community Choice energy programs reported on recent developments in those programs.  Comments focused on the levels of engagement the programs have now (or might have in the future) with the grassroots organizations in their communities.

An update on the status of the multiple bills filed to weaken Community Choice by MCE’s Legal Counsel and the head of CalCCA’s legislative committee, Shalini Swaroop.  Discussion focused on the role of grassroots organizations in building momentum to oppose these harmful bills, and the need for all segments of the Community Choice ecosystem to work closely and collaboratively.

As the session continues, a review of legislative measures filed and before their policy committees of jurisdiction.  Discussion of the positions of the Alliance and others.

A discussion with Mark Toney of TURN (The Utility Ratepayers Network) on the principle findings and recommendations of the report of the Governor’s Wildfire Strike Force and the implications of these for ratepayers in general and Community Choice ratepayers in specific.

As the 2019 Legislative session began to heat up, the Alliance developed a set of principles to underpin our legislative priorities.  In this call, the draft Principles were shared with members for comment  and further discussion.