In 2018, we’re looking forward to some exciting changes and growth for MCE—including enrolling nine new Contra Costa jurisdictions and welcoming several new sister CCAs into the California energy landscape. See the attached CalCCA quarterly update for more on statewide CCA activity.

Also see the 1st Quarter Report from CalCCA.

As we welcome the New Year, here are a few highlights from the final months of 2017 and some things to look forward to in the coming months:

• Pittsburg Call Center Training: In November, MCE worked with Future Build East County, the City of Pittsburg, Calpine, and AnswerNet to host our first training for the new MCE call center planned for Pittsburg. Job trainings and opportunities like this help MCE contribute to local economic and workforce development by hiring local workers to contribute to the renewable energy industry. The Pittsburg Call Center currently employees bring 11 full-time customer service jobs in Contra Costa County.

• Charles McGlashan Advocacy Award: The 2017 McGlashan Advocacy award recognized the El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee for their work on the ‘100 for 100 Campaign’ in El Cerrito, encouraging residents and businesses to choose 100% renewable electricity for the City’s 100th anniversary. 2017’s Award nominees included Sarah Loughran and Helene Marsh for their work with the Environmental Forum of Marin encouraging Marin municipalities to opt up to Deep Green, and Melissa Yu from the Sierra Club for her work promoting Community Choice in Contra Costa communities.

• MCE Solar One: In December 2017, MCE flipped the switch on MCE Solar One in Richmond, feeding 10.5 MW of new renewable solar energy onto the grid. This project is now supplying enough electricity for over 3,400 homes and was built with a 50% local hire requirement. For a glimpse of this beautiful project, check out our newest video.  You can also see Richmond’s Mayor and MCE Vice Chair Tom Butt and Jamie Tuckey on the recent spotlight from KPIX CBS SFBayArea!

• Contra Costa Enrollment Update: Preparation for the April enrollment of the nine new Contra Costa jurisdictions is progressing smoothly. We’ve already hosted our first round of Community Leader Advisory Group meetings and trainings for city, town, and County staff. The first MCE enrollment notices will be mailed in February, which is also when our advertising campaign will commence. Please share the MCE Contra Costa webpage with your community to help them learn about their new electric service options: mceCleanenergy.org/ContraCosta.

• Electric Vehicle Ready Communities Grant Opportunity: For MCE communities looking for possible grant funding for Electric Vehicle projects, there may be an opportunity with the California Energy Commission. Phase I of the grant funding is looking for “blueprint” proposals for plans to create an EV Ready Community!

• Living Lightly Challenge: MCE’s newest community campaign, the Living Lightly challenge, works with your religious community, school, or community group to encourage residents to opt up to Deep Green and start #LivingLightly. This campaign will launch in February and offers an easy opportunity for community groups to get engaged by creating teams and showing their support for 100% renewable electricity by challenging their community members to #optUP. 

• Request for Proposals: MCE is seeking proposals to provide direct installation services for MCE’s Multifamily Energy Savings Program and the Low-Income Families and Tenants (LIFT) pilot program. Services will include developing a direct install crew, completing the direct installation of safety and energy efficiency measures as well as community outreach and income verification. Please share this information with your community.

• MCE is Hiring: MCE is still hiring! As we staff up for our new communities, we appreciate your support in sharing the news about career opportunities with our team. We’re still currently hiring for a few positions, including a Chief Operating Officer.

For more information, contact:

J.R. Killigrew | 415.464.6651
Community Development Manager, MCE
1125 Tamalpais Ave.
San Rafael, CA 94901
www.mceCleanEnergy.org

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