As Vice-chair of the MCE Board of Directors, I’m pleased to announce that MCE’s Board of Directors voted to reduce energy rates by an average of 9%, effective September 1, 2016.  This means the cost of MCE Light Green 50% service will be slightly less than the cost of PG&E’s 30% renewable energy service for typical homes and businesses. Sample cost comparisons are available here: https://www.mcecleanenergy.org/rates

MCE’s Light Green 50% renewable energy is MCE’s standard service and the default for customers in all of Marin County, unincorporated Napa County, and the cities of Benicia, El Cerrito, San Pablo and Richmond. MCE currently provides service to more than 170,500 customers in these communities. Approximately 94,000 customers in the cities of American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa, St. Helena, Yountville, Lafayette and Walnut Creek are scheduled to start Light Green service with MCE this September.

MCE is committed to stable rates and, in its six years of operations, has never changed rates more than once a year. Those rates are developed, discussed, evaluated and approved by MCE’s Board of Directors at public meetings that encourage participation and prioritize transparency. MCE does not use taxpayer dollars, but instead reinvests in communities by providing low and stable rates, and by fostering local renewable development projects and expanding energy efficiency programs. MCE has allocated $80,000 for solar rebates, offered payment of $1,028,452 to solar customers for generating more solar than they used in 2015, saved more than 7,765,057 gallons of water through energy efficiency programs, and reduced 122,102 metric tons of greenhouse gases, equivalent to removing 13,365 cars from roads for one year. And, in California, MCE renewable energy projects have created 2,400 jobs.