2019 Brings New Green Energy Program and More Flexibility

You can now choose greener energy through the City's participation in the Clean Power Alliance (CPA). It's one way our region is working to provide more clean power options for residents and businesses. In February 2019, Thousand Oaks' residential customers began receiving electricity service from CPA with service to the City's commercial and industrial customers beginning in May 2019. Customers’ electricity service automatically transfers from Southern California Edison (SCE) to CPA on the respective date, and customers will be notified of the switch four times, twice before and twice after the transition. Notifications provide instructions to customers on how to opt out of CPA and stay with SCE, should they choose to do so.

Although customers can individually choose any of the three programs that CPA offers – a standard product 36% renewable energy content, a 50% renewables product, or a 100% renewables product – customers that do not make a selection will be placed into the 100% renewables product.

Regardless of whether you chose CPA or SCE as your electricity supplier, SCE will continue to deliver electricity to all residents and businesses, maintain and build the distribution network, install and read meters, respond to outages, and provide billing and customer service. Both programs will run energy efficiency and incentive programs. Although applications for onsite solar will still need to go through SCE for interconnection to the grid, CPA will pay customers at a higher rate than SCE for any excess solar energy generated.

See special information for solar customers below.

How does it work?

If I do nothing, what happens?

1. You continue to get your monthly bill from Southern California Edison (SCE) and submit payment to them.
2. The line item on your bill that shows "Generation charges" will show Clean Power Alliance as the provider (rather than SCE). There is no separate bill.
3. You will receive energy from 100% renewable sources (solar, wind, geothermal etc.), and help the City to be an environmental leader.
4. Your bill will increase by 7-9%, which is the extra cost for supplying energy from clean fossil-free sources.

What options do I have?

1. You can choose a cheaper option within CPA that supplies electricity from fewer renewable sources (either 36% or 50% renewable). Note that CPA's 36% option is cheaper than the rate you pay SCE. You can make this switch within CPA at ANY TIME WITH NO FEES OR PENALTY.
2. You can choose to stay with SCE by "opting out" of CPA.  See "To opt out of CPA" section below.

 To do either of these just have your SCE customer account number on hand and call CPA at 888-585-3788 or go online to cleanpoweralliance.org. To see how your costs compare under both programs, use the rate comparison tool.

I didn’t choose CPA. Why am I being moved?

• The 2002 State law that made community choice possible, determined that the new local government provider (CPA) would be the default.
• Through a call to 888-585-3788 or visit to the CPA website, you can switch back to SCE. Have your SCE bill on hand with your account information.

Why did the City choose the 100% renewable option as the default?

• The City of Thousand Oaks has always been an environmental leader and prides itself as such. This the single biggest action that the City can take to reduce greenhouse gases, mitigate climate change, improve air quality, and support the local green economy.
• This choice allows those who qualify for rate assistance to receive 100% clean power for no additional charge.

Doesn’t all the electricity come on the same lines? How is it possible for me to get 100% renewable energy and my neighbor 36%?

• It is true that both your and your neighbor’s electricity comes across the same transmission lines. By signing up for 100% renewable power, that amount of renewable energy will be purchased on your behalf and put on the grid.
• This is similar to the way that solar panels work on homes. If someone is home during the day when their panels are producing power, they will use some of those “clean electrons” to power their home; the rest will flow to the grid. When they use electricity in the evening or at night, their electricity comes from the grid and is the same as their neighbors. This does not diminish the value of their solar power; they are still powered by renewable energy.

How will my new bill compare?

• To get an accurate comparison, use the bill comparison calculator. Have a recent SCE bill ready so you can enter your usage information.

Will my bill look different?

• No, you will continue to get a single bill from SCE.
• SCE will continue to deliver power, send you a bill, and resolve any electrical service issues. You will see a line item on your bill for CPA showing the cost to generate clean energy. This will replace an existing line item from SCE for generation charges.

To Opt Out of CPA (back to SCE):

Post-enrollment, more than 60 days after your February 2019 meter read:

• Contact CPA to opt-out via phone or web
• Customer has two options
  • Option #1: Immediate return to SCE on a “Transitional Bundled Service (TBS) Rate” for six months – this is a market price energy rate that could be higher or lower that their previous SCE rate depending on energy prices. After six months on this TBS, then customer returns to their previous SCE rate
  • Option #2: Provide SCE with a form: “Six Month Advance Notice to Return to Bundled Portfolio Service”. Remain with CPA for six months and then return to SCE on their previous SCE rate.
• No charge from CPA
• 50 cent charge from SCE
• Customer must remain with SCE for minimum of 12 months before returning to CPA

To opt into CPA after previously opting out to SCE

There is no CPA charge or waiting period to switch INTO CPA, or change your plan within CPA at any time. Call CPA Customer Service at 888-585-3788 to request the change. However, note that SCE may impose a waiting period before you can opt back into CPA as indicated above, depending on when you made the switch to SCE (see section "To Opt Out of CPA" above.) 

I have solar and received a bill from SCE

Click here for the letter that was mailed to NEM customers who have remained with Clean Power Alliance.

Click here for the letter that was mailed to NEM customers who have opted out of Clean Power Alliance.

For more information please visit www.cleanpoweralliance.org/nem

Where can I find more information?

• See the top consumer questions on the CPA's  Frequently Asked Questions page.
• Learn more about the Clean Power Alliance on their website.

The true benefit of joining a CCE is to provide customers with choice – choice of supplier, choice of rate program, choice of renewable energy content. If you’ve been waiting to “go green” but are unable to install solar on your property or don’t own your home, this program will offer you a way to participate in clean energy options. If you simply want to save a few dollars, CPA can also generate some savings for you. You’ll always have the choice to choose CPA or SCE and switch later.

In addition, SCE has provided valuable information on Community Choice Aggregation at the following links:

SCEs Community Choice Aggregation Overview

SCE's Community Choice Aggregation FAQs

For more information regarding CPA or to change your option: please visit  cleanpoweralliance.org or call 888-585-3788.