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Government-controlled energy programs aren’t working
My recent article in the Press-Enterprise discusses who’s pulling the strings behind Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). As I note in the article.
It’s clear government-controlled energy, or Community Choice Aggregation, is not delivering on its promises to provide greener and cheaper energy. CCAs are not delivering on the fundamental need of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
So why are we seeing more CCAs, aka Community Choice Energy, surface in California? Why is the San Diego City Council considering forming what would be one of the largest government-controlled energy programs in the state? And just who is behind this scheme?
Some of you already know that Exit Fees (PCIA) that are paid to PG&E are now front & center at the CPUC.
A Preliminary Decision, dated August 1st, attempted to resolve PCIA. Lawyers pointed out that the Preliminary Decision neglected law and rewrote codified CPUC statutes in favor of CCAs (The author of the CPUC’s Preliminary Decision, Steve Roscow, attended some of MCE’s launch meetings at various municipalities in 2010; he was decidedly pro-CCA, rather than neutral).
The shortcomings of the Preliminary Decision caused one of the CPUC Commissioners (Peterman) to promptly issue an Alternate Preliminary Decision that has far more teeth and is far more costly for CCAs.
The net of it is that CCAs have not been paying all of the costs that they should, saddling Utility ratepayers with costs that belong to CCA.
CPUC Commissioners, PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E want to make sure that the accounting is correct and that no one is subsidizing anyone else. As a result, CCAs appear to have a hefty bill to pay.
The worst is for the longer-operating CCAs that have benefitted from this cost shifting. The fortunate CCAs are those that have yet to launch. Most fortunate of all are the municipalities (and their taxpayers) that have kept an arm’s length from CCA promoters.
For more information, you can also refer to my attached PDF regarding the Western Riverside Council of Government’s (WRCOG) sales presentation to cities, inviting them (Menifee, in this case) to join WRCOG’s burgeoning CCA, known as “Western Community Energy.”
What was presented by WRCOG's Executive Director (Rick Bishop) and WRCOG’s Director of CCA Development (Barbara Spoonhour) is an over-selling of complex issues that are quickly turning against CCA, and will turn against many municipalities that find themselves locked into these CCA programs’ stealth language (refer to “Point 4” in the attached PDF).
Click the link below to read the Press-Enterprise article:
Jim Phelps is a consumer advocate, specializing in energy issues and CCAs. Before retiring he was a power contractor and utility rate analyst.