Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

An opportunity to challenge SDG&E's monopoly

Businesses, schools, and residents of the greater Fallbrook area are paying too much on their monthly SDG&E electric bills.

With solar costs decreasing, we are locked into paying a share of unnecessary new construction of billion-dollar fossil fuel plants. In addition to these expenses, SDG&E is phasing in a new two tier structure to compel people who are conserving energy to pay higher rates.

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) under California law permits the creation of local special districts to aggregate the electrical load in order to purchase and develop energy on behalf of their customers. This allows the local district to challenge SDG&E’s monopoly. Everyone would have a choice to stay with SDG&E or to purchase power from the local CCA which emphasizes solar and other forms of clean energy at a lower monthly cost.

CCA districts have already been formed in Marin and Sonoma counties. Customers there are seeing lower rates and using cleaner power. The City of Lancaster rolled out Choice Energy in 2015. The cities of San Diego and Encinitas are currently doing feasibility studies towards forming CCAs to switch to cleaner power.

For unincorporated Fallbrook, the way forward to less expensive electricity involves the County Board of Supervisors enabling a plan to form a utility district that will invest in clean energy and aggregate the increasing number of solar panels going up around us.

Tom Frew

Volunteer

North County Climate Change Alliance

Fallbrook Chapter

 

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