San Diego Community Power: Imperial Beach's Clean Energy Provider

San Diego Community Power is a community-driven, not-for-profit public agency providing clean electricity generation service to the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and National City, as well as the unincorporated communities of San Diego County. It is overseen by a Board of Directors which includes one elected official from each of the communities it serves.

Community Power is what’s known as a Community Choice Aggregator, or CCA. CCAs allow local municipalities to come together and purchase electricity on behalf of their communities. Community Power was formed in 2019 and became the official clean energy provider for the San Diego region through a phased enrollment from 2021 through 2023.

SDG&E still delivers this electricity through their power lines. Customers receive one bill from SDG&E. Community Power appears as a line item on the SDG&E bill, but it is not an extra charge. It merely replaces the electricity generation charge that would otherwise go to SDG&E. Because Community Power doesn’t have shareholders, all revenue is reinvested back into the communities it serves through energy education, rebates and incentives, and lower electricity rates.

Per California state law, customers in Community Power’s service territory were automatically enrolled in its service. In 2021, customers in the City of Imperial Beach began receiving the standard PowerOn service but can also choose Power100, which is 100% renewable, or PowerBase, which is a lower cost service plan. Customers can change their service plan by visiting Community Power’s website or calling our Contact Center at 888-382-0169.

Customers can learn more about how Community Power is serving Imperial Beach at SDCommunityPower.org.

FAQs

How does Community Choice Aggregation work?

CCAs are established by local communities, either through the creation of a joint powers authority or enterprise fund. While CCAs are locally operated, they work in partnership with the existing investor-owned utility (IOU). Through this partnership, CCAs determine the source and procure the electricity while the existing IOUs continue delivering the energy, maintaining the grid, and providing billing services.

How is a San Diego Community Power (SDCP) funded?

SDCP is a self-funded, not-for-profit entity created to ensure that financial benefits directly serve community members. SDCP is completely funded by program revenue. Because SDCP is a locally managed, not-for-profit entity, excess revenue is reinvested into the community through innovative energy programs, job training, employment programs, and more.

What are the benefits of a CCA?

Potential benefits of CCAs include:

Increased customer choice
Local control of resource decisions and rates
Competitive electricity costs
Opportunities for innovative new energy programs (energy efficiency, distributed generation, economic development, etc.)
Support for local infrastructure investment

What is Community Choice Aggregation?

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a model that allows communities to purchase power to meet their electricity needs, offering an alternative choice to the local incumbent utility (San Diego Gas & Electric). CCAs can provide the communities they serve with competitively priced, clean energy choices while reinvesting revenues into projects and programs, supporting the local economy.

What is the status of Imperial Beach's CCA efforts?

On October 2, 2019, Imperial Beach Council approved community choice aggregation through a regional CCA program called San Diego Community Power. Partners include the cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa, and San Diego. The Board meeting schedule as well as more information can be found on San Diego Community's Website.

Learn more:

CCA 101: How does Community Choice Aggregation work? What you need to know. September 2018, San Diego Union Tribune.

What will energy bill look like with SDCP?

You will continue to receive one bill from SDG&E but it will look slightly different.

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City Documents

Sources

Information above was provided by LEAN Energy U.S, the Local Government Commission, and the California Community Choice Association (CalCCA).
Community Choice Aggregation Pilot Project (PDF) funded by California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research Program prepared by the Local Government Commission and Navigant Consulting, Inc. (2009)
CalCCA Community Choice Aggregation FAQ Sheet (PDF)
Community Choice Aggregation Fact Sheet (PDF) funded by the California Energy Commission and Department of Energy prepared by the Local Government Commission
LEAN Energy - What is Community Choice?

San Diego Community Power: Imperial Beach's Clean Energy Provider

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