Commentary: Central Coast Community Energy Policy Board Summary

This comment was added by John Freeman, a member of the San Juan Bautista City Council. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. BenitoLink invites all members of the community to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user at the top right of our home page and agreeing to abide by our Terms of Useyou can write a counter-opinion or share your thoughts on current issues. Read this article in Spanish here.

On Wednesday (June 26), a meeting of the 3CE political council took place in the historic and beautiful Atascadero City Hall. It has four stories and was built in 1918. Despite its age, the air conditioning worked well since the outside temperature was around 90 degrees.

First, a consent agenda was approved in which the board unanimously appointed Celina Stotler of San Benito County to the Community Advisory Board. The Community Advisory Board receives input from the public and explores many issues related to this transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy powering our community. Celina will be a great addition to the board and will represent San Benito County well.

Next up was CEO Robert Shaw’s report. The items listed were:

• Biomass energy, part-of-day (SOD) price, when higher prices per kWh apply during periods of high electricity demand, i.e. from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in our service area
• Electrify your fleet – incentives for local city and county governments to switch their fleets to electric vehicles
• Modernizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to Improve Customer Service
• An internship program for university students that allows them to gain professional experience
• Staff News on New Hires
• Recruiting Plans for Atascadero and San Luis Obispo County

The next item on the agenda was the presentation of the 3CE rebate program for behind-the-meter home batteries, which the board enthusiastically supported. It is designed to store renewable energy until needed in the evening after sunset. These batteries make every home resilient to energy changes and independent of the grid. These batteries can also strengthen the grid because they can discharge energy back into the grid, making it less susceptible to power outages. There is a 3CE rebate that covers between one third and one half of the cost of installing these batteries. This encourages our customers to help solve energy problems during this transitional period in our society.

The next element, Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3CE, a pricing structure for customers with solar panels on their roofs or properties, was approved as a resolution. The decision goes into effect July 1, 2024. This pricing will be based on the average market value of energy generated by solar panels. It will be competitive or slightly better than PG&E’s NEM program.

We then approved 3CE’s financial policy, including reserve levels, which play a key role when the state-independent system operator requests more power on a hot day.

We then voted on the methodology for the rate structure for our clients for 2025.

Finally, the council approved the redevelopment of a new 3CE office building in downtown San Luis Obispo that will include a community meeting room and offices for employees.

This concludes the Policy Board meeting for the quarter. The next 3CE meeting will be held at Seascape Village in Aptos on September 18 and 19, 2024, for two days. The public is welcome.

Submitted by John Freeman, San Juan Bautista City Councilor and 3CE Policy Board Member.