El Dorado County formally announced today it joined Pioneer Community Energy (Pioneer) to bring businesses and residents a choice in electric generation providers starting January 2022 and that the Pioneer board is accepting applications for its newly created advisory committee.
El Dorado County representatives approached Pioneer in the summer of 2020 expressing interest in receiving the benefits of the Pioneer Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program including local control and stable rates for electric generation.
“El Dorado County had been investigating options and alternatives for serving electricity to our residents and businesses for years,” said John Hidahl, El Dorado County Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “Constituents have made it clear they want to have more control over our County’s power, the costs, and programs. We chose to join Pioneer not only to gain that control, but to also give people a choice in electricity providers and a say in what and how that electricity is purchased. This only impacts residents and business on the West Slope which are serviced by PG&E; it does not include the South Lake Tahoe basin. ”
Pioneer is a joint powers authority and the process to join Pioneer required California Public Utilities Commission certification of Pioneer’s plan to expand electric generation service to approximately 68,000 meters in unincorporated El Dorado County and the City of Placerville.
Currently, electric customers in those areas receive electric generation exclusively from PG&E. As a CCA, Pioneer procures electricity and then delivers it over PG&E’s transmission and distribution lines. Customers receive multiple notifications of enrollment which happens automatically unless a customer chooses to remain with PG&E (opt out). While Pioneer’s service will be available to all businesses and residents on the West Slope, customers retain the right to choose who they would like their provider to be.
“The Pioneer Board is also accepting applications from residents to serve on its 11-member Community Programs Advisory Committee to help provide information, insights, opinions and perspectives from the ratepayers to the Pioneer Board and staff regarding programs Pioneer offers or may offer in the future,” said Hidahl. “It’s an important element to the success of Pioneer and a great way for people to become engaged.”
Applications may be submitted by email to info@PioneerCommunityEnergy.ca.gov or mailed to Pioneer Community Energy, Atten: CPAC, 2510 Warren Drive, Suite B, Rocklin CA 95677. Interested individuals should complete an application and submit it by June 30, 2021.
For more information visit http://pioneercommunityenergy.ca.gov/cpac/.
Pioneer is a local government, not-for-profit partnership between Placer and El Dorado Counties, and the incorporated areas of Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Loomis, Placerville, and Rocklin, currently serving more than 93,300 residential and commercial accounts, and totaling approximately 160,000 accounts starting in 2022. Pioneer was formed to provide electric generation at stable rates, while offering programs that deliver economic and workforce benefits for the local community.