Council May Enroll all Piedmont Residences in 100% Renewable Energy Service Plan to Achieve City’s Climate Action Goals 

As many of you may be aware, Piedmont is part of East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), a community choice aggregate for jurisdictions within Alameda County formed in 2017.  Other participating jurisdictions include Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Oakland, San Leandro, Union City, and the County of Alameda.  Through EBCE, participating jurisdictions will receive cleaner, greener electricity, sourced from cleaner energy sources. Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) will still deliver the electricity, maintain the lines, and handle billing.

 

During its May 7^th meeting, City Council received an informational report from Staff delineating the three service plans that EBCE is offering for its customers. These are:

 

Service plan 1 “Bright Choice” – 85% Carbon-free energy. The cost is 1.5% below PG&E rates

 

Service plan 2: “Brilliant 100” – 100% Carbon-free energy. The cost is the same as PG&E.

 

Service plan 3: 100% Renewable Energy, 100% Carbon-free energy. The cost has a premium of approximately 1.1 cent/kwh compared to PG&E rates. Based on the average use of electricity for homes in Piedmont, the premium for an average residential customer in Piedmont will approximately be $72 per year, about $6 per month.

 

Although all three power mix service plans offer different levels and combinations of carbon-free energy and renewable energy, only Plan 3 for 100% Renewable Energy Service comes from a power mix that comes from naturally replenished resources that create no carbon emissions; it is also the only plan that does not include electricity generated in large hydroelectric plants, which is not considered renewable due to the adverse ecological and social impacts associated with their construction and operation: flooded areas with live vegetation can emit carbon dioxide and methane; reduced flow of rivers alter water temperatures and degrade habitats for plants and animals; and pools of standing water can be created, bringing potential health problems for populations that live close by, most of which are  economically disadvantaged, including Native American communities.

 

While both the Brilliant 100 and the 100% Renewable Energy service plans are completely carbon-free and will help Piedmont reach its Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2.0 goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 by saving approximately 3,613 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the first year, Plan 3 for 100% Renewable Energy service would bring Piedmont closer to implementing a goal included in its CAP 2.0, which calls for a 100% clean energy as the default enrollment service plan for Piedmont residents.

 

EBCE has asked jurisdictions that wish to opt in their residential accounts to a service plan other than Bright Choice to make this decision by June 6^th, 2018. If jurisdictions take no action, all residential electrical accounts will be automatically be enrolled in the Bright Choice service plan (85% carbon-free). Regardless of the Council’s decision regarding the default, Piedmont residents and businesses will still have the option to enroll in any of the three EBCE service plans or to continue purchasing their electricity from PG&E by making that choice before or after the November launch of EBCE’s service. Also, regardless of the EBCE service plan they are at, residents currently enrolled in PG&E’s assistance programs such as the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE), Medical Baseline, and the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program will retain the same discounts.  

 

During its regular meeting on May 21, 2018, the City Council will receive a report from staff recommending that the Council enroll all residential electric service customers in Piedmont into the 100% Renewable Energy Service Plan offered by East Bay Community Energy (EBCE). Doing so will be an important step in achieving the City’s climate action goals. The City Council meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue. Residents are encouraged to attend. The staff reports for the May 21, 2018 agenda items will be available on the City’s website on Friday, May, 18, 2018.

 

Public comment is invited and encouraged at the May 21^st meeting. Written comments may be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office at cityclerk@piedmont.ca.gov or by US Mail to City Clerk, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA  94611. All comments submitted will become part of the public record.

 

The meeting will be televised live on KCOM-TV, Channel 27, the City’s government TV station and will be available through streaming video on the City’s web site www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video.

 

For more information on EBCE, please visit their website at https://ebce.org/, or contact Annie Henderson, Vice President of Marketing and Account Services for EBCE at ahenderson@ebce.org.

 

Thank you,

 

Mira Hahn, Assistant Planner

One Response to “Energy Service Plan Helps to Achieve Climate Action Goals”

1. Garrett Keating
   

   May 10th, 2018 at 7:21 pm

   Signing up for either the Brilliant Green or Renewable Energy plans is the quickest way for residents to lower their carbon footprint. Both are 100% carbon-free and for just $6 more per month you can preserve river habitat. Show your support for clean energy by contacting City Council at citycouncil@ci.piedmont.ca.us.

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