Skip to main content

Power For the People

In this episode – Power For the People . . .

People often ask me, "You work for a solar company; don’t you have solar on your home?”

Nope!

“With an astonished look, they exclaim, “Why not?”

Here’s the short answer: "I monitor our yearly electricity consumption, which totals approximately 2,500 kWh.”

For comparison, a Walmart Supercenter could use about 10,000 kWh daily on average.

Okay, I get it. Most people might not be familiar with this terminology; they only care about how much they're billed monthly.

Welcome back to On the Fly! Today, our virtual assistant, Professor Watts, will join us to discuss a program called Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, that helps Californians choose a cleaner energy future with better rates.

San Diego County is known for its beautiful beaches and vibrant community. Now, the cities of Solana Beach, Del Mar, Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, and Vista are leading the way in sustainability thanks to their participation in a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program.

This is very recent. On May 1, 2021, The Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) began offering energy services, providing residents with cleaner energy, competitive rates, local programs, and local control. In July 2022, CEA expanded into the cities of Oceanside and Vista.

What exactly is CCA?

Professor Watts: Community Choice Aggregation allows communities to join forces and buy electricity. This gives residents more control over their energy source and potentially lower rates. Traditionally, your electricity comes from a big utility company; in San Diego County, it’s San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), but with CCA, communities have more autonomy.

That's an interesting explanation, Professor Watts! But how can CCA specifically benefit Vista residents?

Professor Watts: Here’s how it works:

Clean Energy Alliance purchases electricity directly from energy suppliers for residents and local businesses. San Diego Gas & Electric manages billing, transmission, and distribution, ensuring customers receive energy at competitive prices.

"OK, but what are the financial advantages for residents?"

Patrick: Here’s a direct example from our most recent SDG&E bill. Our utility rate for electricity is about $0.41 per kWh, while our CCA rate varies between $0.05 and $0.13 per kWh, depending on time-of-day usage.

How is this possible?

Residents benefit from lower rates with the CCA provider because they buy electricity in bulk as a community. Additionally, some CCA plans offer more renewable energy, which might cost a bit more but allows residents to support clean energy sources directly.

That’s a win-win in my book! Investment-wise, owning a rooftop solar system does not provide a better electricity rate. Rooftop solar benefits its owner during peak production hours, typically 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The highest rates charged by the utility are from 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. When you're not using the power generated by your solar system at home, it is sent to the grid for the utility to sell to others on demand. Since you're connected to the grid, you will be billed by the utility at a higher rate. Check your utility bill for the On-Peak rate to see the difference.

How can local residents discover more and potentially switch to a CCA provider?

Click the link to view the Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) provider. The provider offers detailed information on plans, pricing, and a straightforward enrollment process.

Thanks, Professor Watts, for that breakdown! Residents of San Diego County, if you're interested in cleaner, potentially cheaper electricity, explore the options offered by the Clean Energy Alliance.

Remember, with CCA, you can choose a greener future for your city!

Power for the People!

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks Patrick - a good simple explanation - keep up the good work. 0
May 18, 2024 at 12:25 PM
Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

The Gopher Problem and the High Powered Solution

Vacationing in Maine this week, just a short drive down the coast from Freeport, it is hard not to think about the outsized impact one frustrated outdoorsman had on the gear we all use today. Bad equipment can ruin a perfectly good day on the water or the trail, but it takes a special kind of vision to turn cold feet into a century-old empire. This is the story of the company we now know as L.L.Bean, but more importantly, it is a masterclass in integrity, learning from failure, and standing behind your work. In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean faced a persistent problem: returning from expeditions in the Maine woods with cold, wet feet. Instead of complaining, he got creative. He had a local shoemaker stitch waterproof rubber soles onto the flexible leather uppers of a hunting boot. He called it the Maine Hunting Shoe and mailed a flyer promising perfect satisfaction. Then reality arrived. Ninety of his first 100 pairs failed when the rubber separated from the leather. Not an effective product...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholē , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...
4 comments
Read more

The Rhythm of the Woodpecker

The morning in Vista often begins under a heavy, gray marine layer that rolls in from the coast, pressing a damp, muffled stillness over the neighborhood. At 4:30 a.m., the driveways are still full. The local commuters are either blissfully unconscious or stumbling blindly toward their showers, clinging desperately to their last shred of peace before the nine-to-five grind claims them for the day. I, on the other hand, am voluntarily wide awake in the dark. When your agenda consists of absolutely nothing, it is critical to get an early start. Inside the house, the quiet is profound, broken only by the sharp, mechanical click of the kettle as it reaches a rolling boil. I stand at the counter, watching the dark ground coffee bloom as hot water hits the French press's stainless steel. The smell is sudden and heavy—a deep, roasted-earth aroma that cuts through the morning fog. I push against the plunger’s gritty resistance, pouring a cup that radiates dark, stinging heat against my pal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more