news story / By Jim Hight

Cheap and green?

Can the new public power deliver what it promises?

(June 21, 2007)  In more than two dozen California communities, city and county governments are seeking to take control of their local electricity systems under a new state public power law. Could it happen here?

This weekend, Paul Fenn, the chief architect of the new public power strategy, will share his vision at a conference and open meeting. Fenn was a driving force behind the 2002 state legislation that enabled local governments to form Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) power authorities to take over the buying and selling of electricity within their jurisdictions. Under the law, privately owned utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric Co. would continue to provide transmission, distribution, billing and other functions. But in essence, they would be working for the community.

Michael Winkler, Arcata planning commissioner and an alternative energy researcher at Humboldt State University. File photo.

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Adopted after the 2000-2001 energy crisis, the CCA law was meant to give communities a way to secure more reliable and less costly power. It was also seen as a way to sharply increase the use of renewable power, and that’s what excites some Humboldt County folks.

“We can develop our own priorities for energy within this county,” by forming a publicly owned CCA, said Michael Winkler, Arcata planning commissioner and an alternative energy researcher at Humboldt State University. “I’d like to see a much higher percentage of our energy come from local renewable energy, and that would be a lot more feasible with a CCA than if we stayed with PG&E.”

While PG&E is mandated to boost its renewable energy portfolio to 20 percent by 2017, Fenn promises that with a CCA, Humboldt County will be able to boost its renewable power usage much faster without raising utility rates. “[A CCA] can deliver 51 percent [renewable power] by 2017 at the same price or better than you’re going to pay PG&E,” said Fenn in a telephone interview last week.

Is that offer too good to be true? There are certainly skeptics who doubt that publicly run CCAs can deliver cheaper or greener electricity than the privately owned utilities. “There’s no guarantee that a CCA would be any better or more efficient at procuring electricity than the investor-owned utilities,” said Louis Irwin, an analyst with the California Public Utility Commission’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates.

Irwin notes that since the energy crisis, the utility commission has been more aggressive in ensuring that utilities provide the best electricity value for their customers. “The controls are a lot tighter now,” he said, leaving less opportunity for a CCA entity to deliver electricity at lower costs.

The Utility Reform Network, a consumer group, has more faith in the CCA approach as a method to lower rates. But its spokeswoman voiced concern that electric rates would go up if a CCA prioritized renewable energy over less costly conventional electricity. “As important as renewable energy is, affordable energy is also important,” said Mindy Spatt. “Perhaps there’s a population in Marin County that feels it’s worth it to them to pay more for renewable power. That’s great, but not everyone is in that position, unfortunately.”

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