By Karen Villasenor.
On April 1, 2018, the City of San Jacinto launched San Jacinto Power (SJP), a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program which allows the City to purchase and generate electricity for residents and businesses in the San Jacinto community. SJP is now one of four Associate Members of California Choice Energy Authority (CCEA) with an operational CCA.
“The City’s primary reasons for implementing SJP were local control and rate savings for our citizens and businesses,” said Thomas Prill, City of San Jacinto Finance Director. “As of right now, our customers are recognizing a three percent savings in their generation rates. In addition, the net proceeds the CCA realizes will be used for projects and programs that directly improve our customers’ lives.”
As SJP customers, San Jacinto residents and businesses are currently benefiting from a three percent savings compared to their costs with Southern California Edison (SCE), the City’s local investor-owned utility. SJP is able to offer lower rates by purchasing directly from energy retailers. Savings and revenue generated can be used by the City to invest in beneficial programs for the community such as energy-efficiency projects.
“One priority project already identified is to increase the number of streetlights in certain areas of the city, heading towards a goal of being a “well-lit city.” Projects that have also been briefly discussed include an economic development incentive program to bring high-quality businesses and jobs to the city; a solar farm project to generate our own clean energy; and possible greater savings in the generation rates for customers,” added Prill.
SJP offers customers three rate plan options: SJP PrimePower, SJP PureGreen and SJP Net Energy Metering. All customers are automatically enrolled in PrimePower, SJP’s most cost-effective plan offering 35 percent renewable energy. Customers may choose to switch to PureGreen for 100 percent renewable energy with a slightly higher cost. The Net Energy Metering plan is available for residents who generate their own power through solar, wind or other generation systems.
SJP is an Associate Member of California Choice Energy Authority (CCEA), a hybrid Joint Powers Authority (JPA) formed by the Cities of Lancaster and San Jacinto to help cities launch CCA programs. CCEA conducted a technical study to determine the City’s feasibility for launching a CCA and developed the City’s implementation plan that had to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in order to launch SJP.
“CCEA has been integral to our successful launch of SJP,” said Prill. “CCEA has assisted us every step of the way from the required customer notification and rate-setting to energy procurement and compliance reporting.”
CCEA is a pioneering Community Choice Aggregation solution for cities in California. The hybrid joint powers authority provides an innovative model that retains local control of utility services for cities who partner with CCEA while alleviating operational risk and administrative overhead associated with the implementation of CCA. For more information, please visit https://californiachoiceenergyauthority.com/.