Can I hear some discussion on the proposed Sonoma Clean Power? I don't get how they say it will be cheaper than PG&E, but power will be delivered by PG&E and billed by PG&E. Should I opt out or opt in?
Thanks!
Printable View
Can I hear some discussion on the proposed Sonoma Clean Power? I don't get how they say it will be cheaper than PG&E, but power will be delivered by PG&E and billed by PG&E. Should I opt out or opt in?
Thanks!
Hi,
Woody Hastings here, with the Climate Protection Campaign (www.climateprotection.org). We are the organization that introduced the idea of Sonoma Clean Power to Sonoma County and led the 9-year effort to make it a reality. You are correct that Sonoma Clean Power is only involved in the electrical generation part of your service. Usually about half your bill. That is the only place where a rate comparison takes place - the electric generation. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you take a look at the "frequently asked questions" page of Sonoma Clean Power: https://sonomacleanpower.org/faq/
And one of the great things about Sonoma Clean Power, in addition to costing less and producing fewer greenhouse gases from its power mix, is that it is local and its meetings are public. So you can go to a meeting of the Board or the two citizen advisory committees and ask questions on the spot.
Hope that helps.
I'll be in Sacramento tomorrow battling powerful forces that want to crush any similar future local Community Choice energy programs in the State of California. (You know you're on to something good when someone is spending millions to try to stop you). To find out more about what I'm talking about visit: www.no2145.org
Best Regards,
-Woody
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by terijane:
Hmmm.... well , are we supposed to have received some sort of paperwork about this as an opt in or out? Is this for everyone in sonoma county? I am in the west county and definitely have NOT recieved any info about opting in or out. Soooo, is this just for santa rosa folks or what??? also does this also work for folks who have the Care program for low income families and individuals?peace
Hi Woody,
Thanks for posting, but... your post didn't really help. You point us to the FAQ, which I'd read before, and found unsatisfactory.
How does it work? How is it that SCP can generate power for less money than PG&E, then also require PG&E to deliver and service that power? If this is answered in the SCP FAQ, I didn't see it.
Thanks!
seenhear
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Woody:
I have a different experience with SCP when it comes to solar customers and their experience. I sell solar systems and many of my customers who were previously PGE but did not opt out and now are SCP and PGE customers have had much difficulty with the billing transition. I have several that were not setup properly on the PGE side and were not receiving credit for their generation. After installation and permission to operate their solar systems their bills increased. It took several calls to PGE for everyone to get it corrected and once corrected they wont make it retroactive for the previous months they did not credit. They lost all that production even though it was the winter months since the program began rolling out.
It doesn't happen to all new solar customer but is has to many. I am still notifying new solar customers to review their billing if they are also Sonoma clean power customers.
Another what i feel is a down side to SCP is they true up monthly as opposed to annually as compared to PGE. With SCP you pay monthly for your NET power consumed. That makes for many very high electric winter month bills when their systems are not making as much power. With PGE you pay once a year for your net on the anniversary date of your go live month each year and only meter fees and taxes each month in between. Its much less confusing.
True SCP pays 1cent/kW more than PGE if you have an overproduction month and $100 increments in cash if you happen to over generate that much. Most solar systems installed don't have a surplus of power by the end of each year.
Most prefer to pay once a year for the true up and $5/mo in taxes as opposed to every month.
Another point is having to deal with 2 separate entities when customer service needs are required. The M-F business hours of SCP means you have to deal with them during business hours while PGE you can anytime and get service.
When you do call SCP you get unmotivated young people reading scripts over the phone to answer your questions.
With the new Spit bill you receive with electrical charges and distribution separate. Did anyone see a reduction in what they were spending? I don't think that was the intent of SCP but the confusion did increase and for the new solar customers out there many are going to suffer until they get the billing worked out.
SCP did negotiate to purchase electricity from the Geysers at 1.5cents/kWhr less than PGE wholesale rate but were all still paying the same retail rate for power whether its PGE or PGE/SCP, Perhaps PGE took the opportunity to raise distribution fees when the split happened. That's a possibility that could be confirmed.
In summary, I think if your an existing solar customer or are intending to go solar in the future, opt out of SCP and stick with PGE.Pay once a year for your net power and minimal fees and taxes each month, have simpler to read billing, deal with one customer service entity who doesn't limit the hours they are reachable and don't risk the hassle you may have when you first go live with your solar system and not get your solar generation credits applied to your bills.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by terijane:
This thread was brought to the attention of Sebastopol Mayor Patrick Slayter, who is also on the board of Sonoma Clean Power. He contacted SCP's Customer Care Manager, Erica Torgerson who provided this response:
First, a little history. Sonoma Clean Power (SCP) is a not-for-profit public agency, independently run by the Sonoma County cities that have joined the program, including Cloverdale, Cotati, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and the Town of Windsor, as well as all of the unincorporated areas in the county.
SCP now has the privilege of being the default electric generation provider for Sonoma County. Whereas previously, PG&E provided both electric generation and electric delivery to customers, those services have now been unbundled. SCP provides the generation of electricity and PG&E provides the delivery of electricity as well as the maintenance of the grid. You will continue to receive one consolidated bill from PG&E, so you only have to make one payment. Electric generation rates for SCP are 6-9% lower than PG&E’s. PG&E’s electric delivery rates are the same whether you are solely their customer or also a customer of SCP.
For solar customers, SCP has a Net Energy Metering program, also known as NetGreen. SCP’s program does have some differences than PG&E’s, chief among them is a transition from a yearly true up and potential bill, to a monthly bill for generation. The annual true up for transmission and distribution remains the same. The transition to monthly billing is a big change for solar customers, however, the program was designed this way based on feedback from customers that wanted to better track solar performance and to avoid the budgeting challenge of a lump sum annual bill.
Our program credits customers monthly for excess energy generated at our retail rate plus a 1 cent bonus. If a customer generated more than they used, they get a credit banked to their account (in dollars) that is carried forward. In months when a customer consumes more than the system produces, those credits are used to offset the charges. If there are not enough credits to offset all charges, the customer will receive a bill.
Every April, if a customer has over $100 of unused generation credits, SCP will automatically issue a check for the full amount, up to $5,000. If the credit balance is below $100, then credits will roll over to the following year. More information can be found at SonomaCleanPower.org/NetGreen.
SCP’s call center, located in Santa Rosa is open 7am to 7pm Monday through Friday and can be reached at 1 (855) 202-2139. Answers to many basic questions can also be found on our website SonomaCleanPower.org. As a shared customer of both PG&E and SCP, there may be times when customer inquiries can only be answered by one organization based on the service provided by that organization. PG&E and SCP cannot speak to each other’s business, however, SCP believes the benefits under our program outweigh the inconvenience of potentially needing to speak with both organizations.
A final point, SCP now provides its customers with a choice and we respect their right to choose who provides their electric generation service. Additional questions are welcome.
Because I was floored by the scope and benefits of his initiatives, I worked for a time with Paul Fenn, then of Marshall, CA--the man who wrote the law that allowed local governments to create CCA ("Community Choice Aggregation")agencies like Sonoma Clean Power in order to hasten the move to solar energy and to reduce the take by entrenched utilities wedded to burning fossil fuels whatever their green-wash campaigns say. And then I was close to Paul in 2010 when PG&E launched a bogus initiative, prop 16, which purported to be motivated by PG&E's love of freedom in which they tried to convince Californians that their freedom was lost if they were required by the new law to check a box to opt out of a CCA. Google California Prop 16 (2010)
PG&E spent millions of dollars (dollars earned from being a utility supposedly granted their monopoly because of a dedication to the public good!), and spread lies about CCA's . Their motivation to keep their fossil energy cash cow flowing full tilt was the obvious motivation. In the end because of Paul's vigorous fight to get the facts out and good journalists who dug into the matter and told the public what was actually going on. on Election Day, Goliath lost despite spending a fortune 100 times the cash used by the defenders of CCA's like Sonoma Clean Power.
So SCP, being a human organization, and one close to the bleeding edge of sustainability innovation (new ideas to save us all from the madness of a civilization living on a vanishing power source in the face of daily sun power way beyond our need) will likely start imperfectly,
BUT DO NOT DRINK THE GREEN COOL AID. DO NOT BLINDLY TRUST PG&E.
In fact, do not trust that any problems coordinating between SCP and PG&E are all SCP's fault. Why? Because PG&E in the matter of Prop 16 showed itself willing to lie, cheat, and steal to keep burning oil, despite the huge public support for solar.
Before I trust the policy makers at PG&E they must make a major public mea culpa. Alas I do not expect it soon.
Yohan Morgan