Council to decide on Community Choice Energy

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What: Davis City Council meeting

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Community Chambers, City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd.

Watch it: Live on Comcast Channel 16 or AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, or as streaming video at www.cityofdavis.org/media

Davis could roll out its own locally controlled Community Choice Energy program very soon, pending a vote from the City Council at Tuesday’s meeting.

A CCE could help reduce energy rates for residents and businesses while drawing on more renewable energy sources. The program would create a locally run nonprofit to provide electricity while working alongside PG&E, which would continue to deliver the power through its infrastructure and handle all billing and collections.

PG&E would continue to meet all of Davis’ natural gas needs.

The program would be closely modeled after a similar energy programs cropping up across the state. Marin Clean Energy was the first to launch, first delivering energy to customers in 2011. It was followed closely by programs in Sonoma and the city of Lancaster.

Under a CCE, residents would see an energy portfolio with at least 50 percent coming from renewable sources while enjoying up to an 8.7-percent reduction on their energy bills over a 10-year period. Locals also could have the option to scale up their percentage of renewable energy, at an extra cost, or to opt out of the program entirely and receive all their energy from PG&E.

Over the same  period, the city also would build up a 4-percent reserve from the program’s annual profits, which would be earmarked for investing in local green infrastructure.

After more than a year of devising a Davis-specific plan, city staffers and consultants found that the most favorable program would serve the city of Davis as well as unincorporated Yolo County. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voiced unanimous support for the CCE program at their March 8 meeting, the city reports.

On the financial end, a CCE would come with $2.5 million to $3.5 million in start-up costs, the city reports. That sum would take ratepayers three to five years to pay off.

In the technical report for the program, released last month, consultants found that all options for a Davis CCE program penciled out. Even if the program fails, any energy contracts purchased by the city would be considered an asset, and could be sold. Meanwhile, the city could revert to back PG&E’s current service.

If the council approves the program Tuesday night, the program will move into the next phase — creation of a joint-powers agency with the county and an RFP for energy services.

If the council chooses to establish a CCE, residents would be automatically enrolled in the program. Residents would be given several opportunities to opt out if they prefer to stay with PG&E. Deliveries could begin as early as March 2017.

— Reach Felicia Alvarez at [email protected] or 530-747-8052. Follow her on Twitter at @Felicia_A_

Council to decide on Community Choice Energy