The California Choice Energy Authority, CalChoice, has conducted technical studies to determine feasibility for Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs in the cities of Baldwin Park, Commerce, Hanford, Palmdale, Pomona and Santa Paula.
With support from CalChoice, all of these communities prepared implementation plans in 2018 that outlined their CCA programs; their city councils then approved the plans and filed for certification with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
“The City of Commerce is a high energy user with more commercial accounts than residential. We wanted to ensure more green energy usage in our community and decided that a CCA would be a great start,” says René Bobadilla, City of Commerce Assistant City Manager. “We chose CalChoice to complete our technical study because they’re at the forefront of CCA and understand how to implement a program that allows cities to maintain local control.”
CalChoice associate members currently include founding members, the cities of Lancaster and San Jacinto, as well as the cities of Pico Rivera and Rancho Mirage, and the Town of Apple Valley.
CalChoice is a hybrid joint powers authority (JPA) CCA model formed by the cities of Lancaster and San Jacinto. The hybrid JPA was designed to assist cities in California to establish CCA programs without assuming the liability of a single-entity CCA or minimizing local control and sacrificing benefits associated with traditional JPAs. With proven expertise and experience in CCA program implementation, operation and administration, CalChoice can expedite and simplify the process for local governments.
“In 2015, the City of Lancaster was the first in California to create a stand-alone CCA,” says Jason Caudle, City Manager of the City of Lancaster. “We are proud to share our experience with the many other California communities that are weighing their options regarding creating or joining a CCA. We are here to help.”
CalChoice offers support for local governments in every phase of the CCA program implementation process:
- feasibility services to determine viability of a CCA program
- implementation plans for submission to the California Public Utilities Commission
- CCA program implementation and launch management
- continued operational support including regulatory and legal affairs, rate analysis, financial projections, power procurement, project scheduling and other resources
Partnership with CalChoice is currently available to local governments in the SCE service territory. To learn more about partnering opportunities with CalChoice, please visit www.CaliforniaChoiceEnergyAuthority.com.
