The town of Grass Valley is contemplating becoming a member of a communication selection aggregation provided by Pioneer Group Vitality of Placer County.
What’s that?
Such aggregations allow metropolis and county governments to pool the vitality demand of their communities collectively for the aim of supplying electrical energy. A communication selection aggregation buys electrical energy on behalf of residential, industrial and municipal electrical energy customers in its jurisdiction. The electrical energy continues to be distributed and delivered over the prevailing electrical energy strains by the incumbent utility (PG&E in western Nevada County).
Why are native governments taking a look at this?
These compacts present communities with extra native management over their vitality provide. Consequently, communities can select to extend the quantity of electrical energy procured from renewable sources, corresponding to photo voltaic, wind, and geothermal.
Communication selection aggregations can even develop modern vitality applications tailor-made particularly for every neighborhood and help the event of native renewable vitality initiatives. The aggregations introduce competitors into the vitality market. Prospects in a jurisdiction can select to stick with the communication selection aggregation or return to PG&E. It provides prospects a selection the place none presently exists.
These are public, non-profit companies. It is very important be aware that every one communication selection aggregations, as soon as they’re operational, are fully ratepayer funded and usually are not backed by taxpayer {dollars}.
These ratepayer {dollars} beforehand went to the PG&E however would now be directed to the aggregation. Any surplus funds generated by the communication selection aggregation could be reinvested into the neighborhood within the type of both new vitality initiatives and applications or decrease charges. Surplus funding doesn’t go into the final funds of the member cities/counties.
Native alternate options:
Pioneer Group Vitality is a neighborhood communication selection aggregation that may be a partnership among the many cities of Placer County, Placer County and El Dorado County. Close by ones corresponding to Valley Clear Vitality in Yolo County and Butte Selection Vitality in Butte County may very well be additionally thought of. Nevada Irrigation District was contemplating forming a communication selection aggregation however is not pursuing it.
How does this relate to Nevada County vitality motion plans?
Nevada County, Nevada Metropolis and Grass Valley all have vitality motion plans. These plans are supposed to help residents in decreasing their electrical energy use via rooftop photo voltaic and vitality effectivity. However many voters can’t afford dwelling retrofitting or can’t use photo voltaic panels due to their bodily location or as a result of they’re renters. Communication selection aggregations are another the place all in the neighborhood can take part.
What are the financial benefits?
Communication selection aggregations can speed up the event of native renewable vitality initiatives, which can lead to vital native job creation. An instance can be a photo voltaic farm on the Previous Nevada Metropolis Airport. Basically, renewable vitality amenities present many extra jobs per unit of funding than conventional pure gasoline and coal crops.
What are the environmental benefits?
Communication selection aggregations can select to buy from and develop electrical energy sources which are extra closely weighted towards renewable vitality. The manufacturing and burning of conventional vitality sources, corresponding to coal and pure gasoline, releases vital quantities of greenhouse gasoline emissions into the environment. Renewable vitality can present electrical energy with little or no greenhouse gasoline emissions.
If the facility goes out, will PG&E nonetheless repair a communication selection aggregation buyer’s outage drawback?
Sure, PG&E will nonetheless present the identical supply and buyer companies no matter whether or not that dwelling or enterprise is an aggregation buyer.
If I joined a one, would my electrical energy charges go up?
A technical research will study the impacts of a communication selection aggregation on charges, however to this point they’ve been round 5% decrease than PG&E costs. That is depending on the client class and the communication selection aggregation choice every buyer chooses. Present aggregations provide a “default” choice that’s cheaper than PG&E, in addition to a 100% renewable vitality choice that’s barely dearer than PG&E.
How is a program arrange?
Native governments should cross an ordinance to hitch a program and draft an implementation plan that’s accredited by the California Public Utility Fee. That is sometimes finished after an preliminary technical research to find out the quantity of electrical energy that will likely be required and study if the potential communication selection aggregations can worth its electrical energy to be aggressive with PG&E. The implementation plan outlines how the aggregation will perform, the way it will set charges, the way it will procure electrical energy, and the way it will conduct features required below the Public Utility Fee’s laws.
Please observe metropolis of Grass Valley conferences and allow them to know your place on communication selection aggregations.
Don Rivenes is the chair of Nevada County Local weather Motion Now. He lives in Grass Valley.