Officially launched on March 1st, 2021, San Diego Community Power (SDCP) delivers customer choice for cleaner energy and competitive pricing. As one of California’s largest community choice aggregators (CCAs), SDCP joins 22 other successful programs throughout the state that are reforming power procurement in favor of transparency, accountability, and reliability. CCAs are local energy providers established by state law and managed by local elected officials and community representatives.
For the first time in our region’s history, families, businesses, and municipalities in Encinitas, La Mesa, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, and San Diego have a future-focused choice in energy providers and a clear path to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035 or sooner.
Organized as a community-driven not-for-profit, SDCP is committed to investing back into local communities through job training, renewable energy development projects, and aid programs for communities of concern. While generating revenue in support of shareholder returns drives the incumbent investor-owned utility, SDCP is focused on clean technology innovation, creating local jobs, and energy programs supporting communities of concern.
“The launch of San Diego Community Power is a game-changer for customer choice, fighting climate change, and creating healthier and more equitable communities for future generations,” said Joe Mosca, Encinitas Councilmember and SDCP Board Chair. “We are excited to usher in a new era for San Diego communities and to do our part to reduce the impacts of climate change by providing greener energy options.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and SDCP executives celebrated the SDCP launch with a press conference on May 1st, 2021.
As San Diego Community Power rolls out service—which began with municipal customers in March 2021, followed by commercial service in June 2021 and residential service beginning in February 2022—customers can choose from competitively priced 50% or 100% renewable energy options. The incumbent investor-owned utility will continue to deliver power, distribute monthly billing, and provide ongoing power grid maintenance. As service becomes available, eligible residents and businesses will be automatically enrolled in SDCP service with the choice to opt-out at any time.
San Diego Community Power’s renewable energy portfolio comes from wind, solar, and battery storage. At 50% to 100% renewable energy, SDCP products are affordable and substantially better for the environment than the current 31% option offered by the local investor-owned utility. Committed to meeting and beating state reliability standards, SDCP rigorously vets its energy sources and works in partnership with the local utility to ensure reliability in the energy delivery infrastructure.
To commemorate the launch and our sustainable future, the mayors of all the member cities planted trees in local community parks.
Community choice energy is a rapidly growing alternative to monopoly, profit-driven utilities. CCAs were enabled by state legislation as part of the solution to the 2001 energy crisis, allowing local communities to control the energy they buy and address constraints on competition that contributed to the problem. Locally elected officials govern CCAs with consistent input from a Community Advisory Council. All decisions on energy procurement, rates, and reinvestment are made at publicly noticed open meetings, giving member city residents and businesses a voice in their energy choices.
There are currently 23 CCAs operating successfully across California, providing reliable service to more than 11 million customers in over 190 cities and counties. SDCP is the second largest CCA in the state, forecast to procure renewable energy for more than 770,000 customer accounts when fully subscribed.
San Diego Community Power is a centerpiece of its member cities’ plan to meet their climate action goals. Among its member cities, San Diego leads the nation as one of the largest U.S. cities to adopt a Climate Action Plan to achieve 100% renewable energy citywide.
“We are flipping the switch on San Diego Community Power and finally bringing a future-focused energy choice and a clear path to 100% renewable energy,” Mayor Todd Gloria said at the official launch on March 1st, 2021. “This launch is an essential next step in meeting our regional climate action goals. By embracing renewable energy sources, we are going to protect San Diego for generations to come.”
Delivering on its promise to reinvest in renewable energy development, San Diego Community Power recently announced its first power purchase agreement with an affiliate of RAI Energy International, Inc. Located nearby in Imperial County, the Vikings Farm project will provide a 20-year supply of solar energy and battery storage.
“We are here to advocate for ratepayers, drive economic vitality, and support clean energy jobs for local workers,” said Serge Dedina, Imperial Beach Mayor and SDCP Board member. “Clean technology already provides more jobs in the region than all coal-related jobs in the country, and we want to see that trend grow.”
SDCP is now preparing to launch commercial and residential service on June 1st, 2021 and is forecast to provide energy to more than 70,000 commercial and industrial accounts of all sizes in the region. SDCP has received a warm welcome from area businesses eager to meet corporate responsibility and sustainability goals with a competitively priced service.
