Clean Power Alliance (CPA) is celebrating its fifth anniversary of providing clean renewable energy to residents and businesses throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Established in 2017 as a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), CPA began accelerating Southern California’s clean energy leadership when it started serving its first customers in February 2018 with approximately 2,000 customer accounts. CPA now serves more than one million accounts throughout its 32 member communities, providing clean energy to more than three million residents and businesses. Choosing clean energy has brought tremendous environmental benefits to Southern California. Collectively, CPA customers have avoided over 6.6 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions since 2018. That is equivalent to taking 639,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road or planting 49 million trees.
CPA has grown to become the fourth largest electricity provider in California and has the distinction of leading the nation in serving the most customers with 100% renewable energy.
“Much of CPA’s success builds on the hard work of the countless community leaders and green energy champions who had a dream of a California powered by renewable energy and have now brought it closer to reality,” said Dr. Julian A. Gold, CPA’s Board Chair. “As we celebrate our fifth anniversary, and the 20th year of Community Choice Aggregators such as CPA in California, I am honored to work alongside such amazing leaders and staff members and am excited about the next years as we work to ensure we are making our communities greener and more resilient for future generations.”
CPA was founded by Los Angeles County and the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and South Pasadena with ambitious goals to provide clean, cost-competitive electricity to Southern California communities, address the impacts of climate change, stimulate local renewable energy development and offer programs to improve the lives of the residents.
Sheila Kuehl, former Los Angeles County Board Supervisor and former Vice Chair of the CPA Board, was on the front lines of the creation and launch of CPA.
“It’s truly exciting to see how far we have come since we first launched Clean Power Alliance in order to provide affordable clean energy options to our many communities,” said Kuehl. “I’m so proud to have had a hand in bringing CPA to life and happy to have seen it grow into a national leader in community choice for renewable energy.”
One of CPA’s founding principles is that residents and businesses should have a choice as to their preferred energy option. CPA provides three energy options: 100% Green Power with 100% renewable energy, Clean Power with 50% renewable energy content, and Lean Power with 40% renewable energy content. Twenty-two of CPA’s member communities have thus far chosen 100% Green Power as their preferred energy option.
“It’s extraordinary that we have reached this moment and are in the position of helping dozens of communities reach climate goals and provide their residents a cleaner, healthier environment,” said Ted Bardacke, CEO of Clean Power Alliance. “It’s taken partnership and regional commitment to arrive at this point. I’m encouraged by the momentum we are seeing and looking forward to the next important chapter in our history.”
To meet its customers’ ever-increasing desire to use clean renewable energy, CPA has procured 30 long-term contracts, totaling 2,001 MW of renewable energy and 1,089 MW of energy storage with more projects to come. CPA prioritizes projects that are in or close to CPA territory, support workforce development through the use of union labor, bring benefits to disadvantaged communities, and exhibit high levels of environmental stewardship.
All of CPA’s programs provide opportunities for clean energy access to low-income customers within its large service territory. CPA became the first Community Choice Aggregator to launch a community renewables program. The Power Share program supports CPA’s goal of energy equity by providing low-income customers in disadvantaged communities with 100% renewable energy sourced from locally developed solar power facilities and a 20% discount.
CPA also invests in skills training programs to prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow and to bolster creating an inclusive and successful green economy. CPA’s Board of Directors approved a $1 million workforce development initiative focused on clean energy skills training and certification, as well as ‘greening’ existing jobs. To ensure there is a pipeline for such future jobs, CPA has also created a scholarship fund for seven community colleges throughout both Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
“CPA was launched to provide clean energy choices to consumers and make a difference in the lives of families and businesses throughout the Los Angeles County and Ventura County communities that we call home,” said Diana Mahmud, who served as CPA Board Chair from 2018 to 2022 and still serves as a member of CPA’s Executive and Energy Planning & Resources Committees. “On this fifth anniversary, we celebrate our customers, stakeholders, and staff who are making Clean Power Alliance efforts central to a more sustainable future.”
Learn more about CPA’s accomplishments over the years here.