Community choice in action: the power of MCE

Business Reporter

Community choice aggregation, also known as community choice or CCA, allows residents and businesses to purchase electricity from locally controlled public agencies operating on behalf of their member communities. Communities benefit from re-investments in tailored programmes and services as well as social equity, economic and workforce development opportunities. CCAs offer a unique value proposition that allows communities to control where their energy comes from and how their electricity dollars are spent. This innovative energy model is resonating throughout California and there are now 24 CCAs serving the state, with MCE as its first CCA.

During MCE’s first 10 years of service, it reinvested more than $180 million into its member communities through programmes such as energy storage and resiliency, energy efficiency services, local renewable energy development and income-qualifying rebates to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), solar, heat pump water heaters, smart thermostats and batteries.

As we move toward a more climate-friendly future, it’s important to consider the cost of this shift away from fossil fuels, which still employs a large portion of the energy workforce. In 2017, MCE implemented a Sustainable Workforce and Diversity Policy focused on creating equitable clean energy jobs. This policy outlines our commitment to diversity and inclusion by contracting for power resources, procuring goods and services, and implementing hiring initiatives. The policy calls for quality training, and apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programmes; fair wages; and direct hiring practices that promote diversity in the workplace.

Read more here: Community choice in action: the power of MCE – Business Reporter (business-reporter.co.uk)