After many years of preliminary study and consultation from experts, interested cities came together to form a new Joint Powers Agency; CCA ordinances were passed in September and the first Board meeting was held in late October. SDCP’s Implementation Plan was submitted to the CPUC in December.
About Community Choice
SDCP is a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program—one of dozens that have formed across the state through the past 10 years. CCAs succeed by introducing healthy competition into the energy marketplace, and feeding cleaner electricity into the grid. They partner with the local investor owned utility (SDG&E, in our case) to deliver and service it. Your power is cleaner, just as affordable, and just as reliable. It’s a simple model that’s focused on the future, and really works.
This not-for-profit model goes even further, eliminating for-profit shareholders who make a profit on your electricity use.
At SDCP, our only shareholder is you.
Structure and Governance
In September, 2019, the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa and Imperial Beach adopted an ordinance and resolution to form San Diego Community Power, a California joint powers agency. SDCP’s Board is comprised of elected representatives from each member jurisdiction—which may expand as new communities in the surrounding area decide whether to join SDCP in the future. The Board is publicly accountable to SDCP ratepayers and hosts monthly Board meetings, where they establish policy, set rates, determine power options and maintain fiscal oversight. As a public agency, SDCP is designed to be fully transparent with all meetings and information open to the public. Until permanent staff is hired in 2021, SDCP will be managed by interim staff from the City of San Diego along with expert consultants with deep experience in CCA formation and operations.
Partnership with SDG&E
As a Community Choice Aggregator, SDCP will pool the electricity needs of its customers and purchase power on their behalf. SDG&E will continue to deliver the electricity through its existing power lines, and will continue to provide meter reading, billing, and line maintenance services to customers. Residents will receive a single bill from SDG&E that shows SDCP’s electric generation charge, replacing SDG&E’s generation charge (which will show as a bill credit). If you utilize natural gas, that service will not change. You’ll continue to receive gas service from SDG&E along with all the other utility program fees, power transmission and distribution fees as you always have.