On Tuesday, the Richmond City Council voted to back a resolution opposing Assembly Bill 2145, which would fundamentally change the way Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) works. AB 2145 is being carried by Assemblymember Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, a former longtime Southern California Edison employee who has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions from investor-owned utilities. A hearing in committee is set for Monday.
AB 2145 is just the latest of a nation-wide attack on the use of solar by the investor-owned utility industry and ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council). For a full investigative report. See “Throwing Shade,” Fearing lost profits, the nation's investor-owned utilities are moving to blot out the solar revolution by Edward Humes.
California utilities are deceptively and cynically using IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) to carry their water in an effort to stop the growth of distributed solar energy installations. IBEW just published the following news release that is replete with errors and omissions. It has been marked up with text in red showing the errors.
We have breaking news out of Sacramento – a coalition opposed to allowing Shell Oil to take over California's power supply has introduced a bill (AB 2145) that would stop Shell from automatically enrolling everyone in San Francisco and other municipalities outside Marin in Shell's Marin energy program.
“Shell Oil” does not manage a community choice aggregation program, nor does it have the authority to interact with any MCE customers, much less automatically enroll them.
Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) are local government entities that are governed by a Board of Directors comprised of elected officials from each of the participating jurisdictions.
CCAs are legally required to fully inform all prospective customers of enrollment with four CCA notifications. MCE has not only complied with the law, but has sent notifications in excess of the statutory minimum.
If you are a Marin resident you may be getting this dirty power today.
Marin residents currently receive three options for electricity: the incumbent utility’s default product, MCE’s 50% renewable energy product, and MCE’s 100% renewable energy product. The power sources of each company are set forth in a joint mailer required by the California Public Utilities Commission. The most recent published version of this mailer indicates that PG&E’s power supply is 19% green, versus MCE’s 53% and 100% green products.
Marin residents have already been enrolled in Marin Clean Energy and many had difficulty opting out of the new scheme. AB 2145 would change that to require that customers affirmatively “opt-in.”
In addition to the two pre-enrollment and two post-enrollment notifications required by state law, MCE also distributes an additional opt-out notice prior to customer enrollment. Customer opt-outs are accepted and processed via phone, website, standard mail, or in person at MCE’s offices. MCE has a Better Business Bureau rating of “A.”
Shell and their partners at Marin Clean Energy initially got a toehold in Marin by promising the energy they would deliver would be green – but now the facts are in. According to documents filed with the California Energy Commission last year, the power Marin buys from Shell is 23% emission-free – which sounds good until you consider that the old energy mix Shell replaced was 62% emission-free. We can't sit back and let them call the power “clean” when it's much dirtier.
The statement implies that “Shell Oil” is MCE’s only provider of electricity. MCE has 24 power supply agreements with twelve different energy suppliers, one of which is Shell Energy of North America, to ensure a diverse and sufficient supply of clean and affordable energy for its customers. MCE currently has more than 54 megawatts (MW) of new California clean energy under development for its customers. This includes 46 MW of solar and 8 MW of biogas—enough clean energy to power approximately 22,500 homes per year.
The current California Energy Commission Power Content Label (PCL) provides accurate information on power sources. MCE’s most current PCL is 60% emission free, while the incumbent utility’s PCL is 57% emission free.
We're writing to you today because you deserve a choice – you shouldn't be automatically enrolled as a customer of Shell Oil against your will. Whether you oppose Shell because of their abysmal record on the environment, for their series of human rights abuses in Africa, or because you don't want to pay more for power that isn't greener – they shouldn't be able to automatically sign you up as a customer.
MCE is a public, not-for-profit, local government entity. “Shell Oil” is not the proprietor of MCE, nor does it have any ownership interest in the entity. Every customer is informed by law of their right to opt out of CCA service in order to continue their existing utility service without penalty.
Shell is a powerful political operator – and their supporters are pressuring politicians to make sure they get their way.. You can read more about the bill, which was introduced by Assembly Member Steven Bradford
Shell Energy of North America is just one of a long list of parties opposing AB 2145, such as the California Public Utilities Commission’s Office of Ratepayer Advocates and California State Association of Counties. As of today, there are over 50 governments, entities, community advocates, businesses, ratepayer advocacy organizations, environmental justice organizations, job training programs, and individuals that have submitted their opposition to AB 2145 and their support for community choice.
Sincerely,
Hunter Stern
Stop the Shell Shock
Paid for by the dedicated members of IBEW 1245.
Opposition to AB 2145 includes the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties, of which John Gioia is president.
CCA is becoming so popular that cities and counties across the state are rapidly moving to set up CCAs or join existing ones. The City of San Pablo and Napa County are doing feasibility studies to join MCE. San Francisco is considering joining MCE (Supervisor John Avalos introduces ordinance to study joining Marin Clean Energy–each day that San Francisco waits to implement clean power produces an additional 149 tons of carbon dioxide). The IBEW has pressured Mayor Lee into blocking San Francisco’s previous move into a CCA.
At this time, MCE has been delivering power that is both cheaper and cleaner than PG&E.
Show Your Opposition to State Assembly Bill 2145 – Energy Community Choice. Send e-mails, phone calls, and letters opposing AB 2145 to Chairman Steven Bradford, Utilities/Commerce Committee, c/o his staffer davina.flemings@asm.ca.gov , Phone 916-319-2062, or Capitol Office P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249–0062.
For more information, contact:
Jamie Tuckey | 415.464.6024
MCE Communications Director
www.mceCleanEnergy.org
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