Local Clean Energy Alliance of the Bay Area

California’s devastating wildfires set the stage for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to provide Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) an initial $6 billion bailout assist. Next, the CPUC will pass billions in fire liability costs onto the public.

 

At the same time, the CPUC is also attacking Community Choice energy, the state's expanding alternative to the monopoly utility model. This latest attack comes in the form of a dramatic fee hike impacting all ratepayers, to cover losses incurred through the utilities’ mismanagement of their electricity procurement obligations.

Since the November 1, 2018 launch of East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), millions of dollars of revenue that used to go to PG&E will remain in Alameda County.  The next phase of our advocacy, starting now, is to ensure that EBCE delivers on promised benefits over the next two years, particularly with respect to the early action items in the Local Development Business Plan (LDBP).

 

Accordingly, we have researched, analyzed, and prioritized 9 of the 12 early action items in the LDBP based on their potential to provide community benefits to the communities that often get shut out of the clean energy economy. 

By Johanna Bozuwa | January 17, 2019 | Truthout

 

California’s large investor-owned utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), announced it would be filing for bankruptcy by the end of the month after being faced with $30 billion in damages related to a series of fires over the past two years, including last fall’s deadly Camp Fire, which was allegedly sparked by the utility’s old, faulty transmission lines.

 

That fire killed 86 people, destroyed 14,000 homes in the town of Paradise, and stands as the deadliest and most destructive fire in the state’s history.

Local Clean Energy Alliance organizer, Jessica Tovar, is a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow! Jessica and Local Clean Energy Alliance are being recognized for our groundbreaking work in establishing East Bay Community Energy,  Alameda County’s brand new public energy service provider. Jessica’s fellowship project is to ensure East Bay Community Energy meets its commitment to developing local clean energy resources to provide environmental, economic, and social justice benefits to our community. 

 

The Roddenberry Fellowship supports 20 activists, organizers, leaders, and changemakers who are working to make the US a more inclusive and equitable place to live. 

For climate justice advocates, democratizing energy—not just decarbonizing it—is key to an equitable, sustainable future. This is why we organized the Energy Democracy National Tour last year to highlight the work local communities are doing to take in their own hands the responsibility of building a cleaner and more equitable future.

 

The Tour has now concluded! We are thrilled to invite you to take a minute to review the Tour’s report on our organizing efforts and accomplishments. 

By Jean Tepperman | January 9, 2019 | East Bay Express

 

Just as Alameda County was launching a new, publicly owned electricity service offering greener electricity at lower prices than PG&E, state regulators put a big new obstacle in its path. A little-noticed decision in October by the California Public Utilities Commission will raise the monthly "exit fee" that customers of East Bay Community Energy and other "community choice" programs have to pay to utility companies like PG&E.