Community Choice Energy at the Sustainable City Commission

The Sustainable City Commission last month heard from LongBeach Gas and Oil (LBGO) about their work to investigate community choice energy (CCE) options for Long Beach. Presentations were also received from South Bay Clean Power, California Choice Energy Authority, and Los AngelesCommunity Choice Energy about their respective CCE programs. To hear the full presentations, you can watch the video online.

Community choice energy (also known as community choice aggregation or CCA) allows cities to take control over the source of their energy supply. LBGO outlined the benefits and risks in their presentation. CCEs allow cities to purchase a higher percentage of renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the green energy industry. They also allow more local control and transparency, so cities can design energy projects and programs that fit their needs and goals for the future. However, the energy market is volatile and complex. So far CCEs have mostly been able to offer lower electricity rates to customers, but there is no guarantee this will continue. There are also exit fees that could discourage customers from switching to a CCE provider.

LBGO is tracking the status of CCEs in California to learn from the experience of other cities. It has also received approval from City Council to obtain Long Beach’s electricity use data from So Cal Edison and will hire a consultant to analyze this data and do a full feasibility report on Long Beach’s options for creating a CCE.

The other presenters all work with successful CCEs in Southern California and shared some of their experiences as well as details of how their programs work. To hear the presentations from South Bay Clean Energy, California Choice Energy Authority, and Los Angeles Community Choice Energy, watch the meeting video.

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