Number of CCA Communities in California Hits 200 Mark
CalCCA News Alert for April 1, 2021
Number of CCA Communities in California Hits 200 Mark
The Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) movement in California achieved a significant milestone today as the total number of cities and counties with CCA service exceeded 200. The number of CCA jurisdictions reached 201 on April 1 as East Bay Community Energy initiated service to Newark, Pleasanton, and Tracy, and MCE initiated service to Pleasant Hill and Vallejo.
This latest bump in the number of communities served by CCAs is part of a wave of new service rollouts in 2021 that includes expansions by Central Coast Community Energy in January (Cities of Arroyo Grande, Del Rey Oaks, Grover Beach, Guadalupe, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, Santa Maria, Solvang, and Unincorporated Santa Barbara County) and Valley Clean Energy (City of Winters), also in January.
California’s newest CCA, San Diego Community Power, launched service in March (Cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, and San Diego). Next up: Clean Energy Alliance is planning to launch in May (Cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, and Solana Beach), and Santa Barbara Clean Energy in October (City of Santa Barbara).
CCA has come a long way since MCE launched the first operational CCA program in Marin County in 2010. Over the last decade, local governments in cities and counties throughout the state have chosen to participate in CCA to meet climate action goals, provide residents and businesses with more energy options, ensure local transparency and accountability, and drive economic development and green jobs.
As the number of community choice energy providers has expanded across California over the last decade, the demographics of the communities they serve have diversified. “California CCAs represent a variety of communities with different sizes, median incomes, and political affiliation,” notes the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.
See below for additional information on CCA growth and impact.
CCA in California
There are now 24 community choice energy providers successfully serving more than 11 million customers in 201 towns, cities, and counties throughout California. Many other communities are planning to launch CCA programs or are considering doing so.
CCA Load Growth
Community choice energy programs now serve about 28 percent of the load in the territories of the state’s three main investor-owned utilities (Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison). By 2022, it’s projected CCAs will serve about 38 percent of the IOUs’ load. You can find more CCA stats here.
CCAs: Putting Clean Energy on the Map
CCAs have signed long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for more than 6,000 Megawatts (MW) of new clean generation capacity, fueling clean energy development, green jobs, and economic growth throughout California. The map below shows the locations of new-build clean energy projects with CCA PPAs. More on CCA procurement here.
“In California, where the electric grid powers the world’s fifth-largest economy with 80% renewable energy at times, calls are growing louder for the state to accelerate its current zero-carbon target date of 2045. And California’s fastest-growing retail power suppliers, local government-run community choice aggregators, or CCAs, are well ahead of the curve.” – S&P Global Market Intelligence
CCA Programs
CCAs do much more than invest in clean energy. Because CCAs are not-for-profit public agencies, excess revenues are reinvested in communities and used to fund innovative and tailored programs that suit community preferences and interests. Community choice energy programs have allocated significant funds to COVID-19 relief efforts and grid resilience initiatives. Innovative CCA programs are the focus of CalCCA’s Community Energy Innovation webinar series. You can browse the broad range of CCA programs by clicking on the image below or visiting this page.
“CCAs can design and deploy innovative initiatives and community-centered programs that provide financial and environmental benefits and can respond to communities’ needs in times of crisis.” – UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation
California is Powered by Community Choice
To find out more about how Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) works and whether your community is Powered by Community Choice go to this page.
For more information contact:
Leora Broydo Vestel
Director of Communications
California Community Choice Association
leora@cal-cca.org
