This October, for the first time, residents of the cities of Pomona and Baldwin Park will have a new choice when it comes to their electricity provider. On October 1, CalChoice associate members Pomona and Baldwin Park are going live with their Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs, Pomona Choice Energy and Baldwin Park Resident Owned Utility District (BPROUD), which will provide each community with alternatives to Southern California Edison (SCE). The CCAs will launch service for commercial customers in June 2021.
“I’m proud to see Pomona and Baldwin Park join our roster of operational members,” said CalChoice Executive Director Jason Caudle. “I have seen how CCA programs have benefited communities all across California, and I’m excited to see our newest operational members offer those same benefits to their communities.”
CCA programs, authorized in California under AB 117, grant municipalities the power to purchase electricity directly from energy suppliers on behalf of residents and local businesses. While Pomona and Baldwin Park will now procure energy for their communities, SCE, the local investor-owned utility, will continue to manage transmission, distribution and billing.
“We’re excited to offer our community a choice where there wasn’t one before,” said City of Pomona Environmental Compliance Supervisor Julie Carver. “SCE has always been the only choice. Now, our residents and local businesses have the power to choose another electricity provider, one that reinvests back into their community.”
Through their CCA programs, each city will now procure energy directly from suppliers, control rates and decide where profits will be allocated. With CCA revenues, they will first create a financially stable program with a reserve that ensures rate stability. After a reserve is in place, the cities will use profits to develop community programs that benefit residents and local businesses such as energy efficiency programs.
“We have seen other CalChoice members successfully launch their CCAs and start reinvesting revenues from the program into their communities,” said Baldwin Park Mayor Manuel Lozano. “We’re happy to be joining the ranks of other cities with operational CCAs, and we’re excited to offer similar benefits to our community in the future.”
In 2018, CalChoice prepared feasibility studies for Pomona and Baldwin Park that determined a CCA program could be successfully implemented in each city and would offer valuable benefits to the community. Both cities submitted their implementation plans to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in late 2018 and were approved to move forward with their programs in February 2019.
Pomona Choice Energy and BPROUD will be offering three energy plan options: 35% renewable energy, 100% renewable energy, and a net metering option available for customers who generate their own solar or wind power.
“With their CCA programs, Baldwin Park and Pomona are not only helping their community save on energy costs, they’re also getting closer to reaching their energy goals,” said Lancaster Mayor and CalChoice Board Chair R. Rex Parris. “I’m glad they partnered with CalChoice to help launch their programs, and I’m excited to see both cities achieve their goals.”
