DATE: June 26, 2023
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT East Bay Community Energy Update: Local Programs and Customer Bill Savings – Information and Discussion
RECOMMENDATION
That the Committee reviews and comments on this informational report.
SUMMARY
Staff from East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) will present an update on local programs, partnerships, and customer bill savings. This report includes brief updates on local programs, including incentives available to Hayward customers; greenhouse gas emissions associated with EBCE’s electricity products; EBCE’s rebranding effort; and recently approved changes in rates.
BACKGROUND
In December 2016, Hayward joined the County of Alameda and ten of its cities in launching East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) as a joint powers authority to provide cleaner, greener energy to their customers at lower rates. EBCE began providing electricity to commercial, municipal, and residential accounts in 2018. Since 2018, EBCE has continued to increase investments in local programs, leading to an expansion in the number of programs offered and an increase in customer savings throughout EBCE’s service area. EBCE now includes all cities in Alameda County except the City of Alameda, which has its own electric utility. EBCE also serves the City of Tracy and in 2025 will begin serving the City of Stockton.
EBCE currently offers two electricity products:
Bright Choice – Carbon content higher than PG&E. Rates are 3% lower than PG&E rates.
Renewable 100 – 100% renewable electricity, sourced entirely from California solar and wind energy. Rates are ¾ of a penny per kWh more than PG&E rates.
On November 10, 2020, Council approved the enrollment of all City facilities in EBCE’s Renewable 100 product. On July 6, 2021, Council voted to transition most Hayward customers to Renewable 100, effective January 2022. Customers on income or medical-related discounts are enrolled in Bright Choice.
DISCUSSION
In addition to its core services related to procuring alternative sources of energy, EBCE also offers programs aimed at improving resiliency and electrifying buildings and vehicles. The budget adopted by the EBCE Board of Directors on June 21, 2023, includes $22.5 million for local development programs, up from $21 million in FY 2022-23. Following are some of the programs that will be included in EBCE’s presentation:
Energy Resilience at Critical Facilities – The City is partnering with EBCE to develop solar and battery energy systems at Hayward’s critical municipal facilities.
Existing Building Electrification – Partnerships with member-jurisdictions and public agencies to offer options and incentives for customers looking to electrify their homes and businesses.
Transportation Electrification – EBCE is managing programs aimed at advancing transportation electrification through the development of electric vehicle fast charging infrastructure in the East Bay and by providing technical assistance to municipalities looking to electrify their vehicle fleets.
Goods Movement – Hayward is participating on EBCE’s stakeholder working group to prepare an electrification blueprint for medium to heavy-duty vehicles, which have been a major cause of poor air quality along the transportation corridors of the East Bay.
Induction Cooktop Lending Program – The cooktop program allows customers to try out an induction cooktop for two weeks before considering the switch to electric cooking, which is a safer and cleaner alternative to cooking with natural gas.
Incentives for E-Bikes – Later this year EBCE will launch a program providing $10 million in incentives to customers in EBCE’s service area to try and purchase e-bikes. The program, partially funded with a $4 million grant from the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC), will direct at least 40% of incentives dedicated to low-income customers.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions – EBCE was established with the intention to provide electricity at rates that are lower or competitive with those offered by PG&E and to develop an electric supply portfolio with a lower greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity than PG&E. EBCE’s base product, Bright Choice, is less expensive than PG&E’s base product and EBCE’s Renewable 100 product has a modest premium, however, the Bright Choice product is currently much more carbon intensive than PG&E’s base product. In 2021, Bright Choice was 60% carbon free while PG&E was 91% carbon free. The data for 2022 is not yet finalized, but Bright Choice is expected be 71% carbon free while PG&E has announced their base product was 96% carbon free. Approximately 30% of Hayward’s customers are on Bright Choice, so the emissions associated with this product make a significant impact on Hayward’s overall GHG emissions.
In December 2020, the Board adopted a goal for all of EBCE’s portfolio to have zero net emissions by 2030. In April 2022, the Board approved a “Path to Zero by 2030” with the carbon-free energy procurement targets shown below in Table 1. In June 2022, the annual targets for Bright Choice were adjusted for 2022 and 2023 and on June 21, 2023, the Board approved another increase in the targets for 2023 and 2024 as shown below.
Table 1. EBCE’s Procurement Targets for Bright Choice
Year
Carbon Free Targets Adopted April 2022
Carbon Free Targets Adopted June 2022
Carbon Free Targets Adopted June 2023
2018
62%
2019
87%
2020
55%
2021
60%
2022
63%
68%
2023
66%
71%
76%
2024
71%
81%
2025
76%
2026
81%
2027
85%
2028
90%
2029
95%
2030
100%
Name Change & Rebranding – On June 21, 2023, the EBCE Board of Directors voted to approve a name change for EBCE. The name change was initiated because EBCE is expanding to the Central Valley and will no longer be limited to the “East Bay” area. The City of Stockton has joined and will begin to receive service in 2025. The new name approved by the Board is Ava Community Energy. Ava was coined from Alameda + Valley. City staff and EBCE/Ava staff will work together to publicize the name change.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
While most Hayward customers are automatically enrolled in Renewable 100, customers on income or medical-related discounts are enrolled in Bright Choice. In addition, some Hayward customers have opted for the Bright Choice product. Rates for Bright Choice were originally set at 1% less than PG&E rates, but in 2022, the discount was increased to 3%. Rates for Renewable 100 were originally one penny per kWh more than PG&E rates, but in 2022, the premium was reduced to ¾ of a penny per kWh. In 2022, Hayward’s Bright Choice customers experienced a total bill savings of more than $350,000.
Due to continued growth in EBCE’s revenues relative to expenses, on June 21, the Board approved another increase in the discount for Bright Choice relative to PG&E rates from 3% to 5%. The premium for Renewable 100 was decreased from ¾ of a penny to ¼ of a penny per kWh. For most residential customers, this new rate will be, on average, approximately $1 to $2 extra per month relative to PG&E rates. When Council chose R100 as the default, the premium averaged $5 to $6 per month.
In September 2022, EBCE distributed a one-time $50 bill credit to all customers enrolled in the CARE/FERA, income-qualifying discount programs. This amounted to roughly $6.23 million in savings for nearly 125,000 East Bay homes. On June 21, the Board approved the distribution of approximately $6.6 million to lower income households throughout EBCE’s service area with another one-time $50 bill credit for all CARE/FERA customers.
FISCAL IMPACT
Hayward’s participation in EBCE has no impact on the City’s General Fund or other funds other than staff time from existing budgeted positions.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item is related to the Strategic Priority of Confront Climate Crisis and Champion Environmental Justice. Specifically, EBCE’s programs may lead to the implementation of the following projects:
Project C1: Implement Year 1 Programs from the adopted GHG Roadmap (Climate Action Plan).
Project C2: Continue to collaborate with EBCE to provide public EV charging facilities.
Project C3: Present a plan on EV charging for city facilities to CIC (for fleet and employee commuters).
Project C5: Explore a partnership with EBCE to offer incentives to purchase electric appliances to encourage community members make the transition from gas to electric.
Project C6: Improve e-bike adoption through the creation of an e-bike rebate program and ensuring that electric transit infrastructure such as EV chargers also serve e-bikes and not just electric cars.
Project C12: Implement Year 1 Programs from the adopted General Plan Environmental Justice Element, with a focus on mitigating the impact on frontline communities.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
Community choice energy was identified in the City’s Climate Action Plan as the program with the greatest potential to reduce community wide GHG emissions. In 2018, Hayward’s participation in EBCE resulted in the 20% GHG reduction goal for 2020 being met two years early. In 2019, due in large part to EBCE, Hayward’s emissions were 25.7% lower than the 2005 baseline. However, in the last couple years, the carbon content for Bright Choice increased significantly while PG&E decreased theirs. EBCE’s current and proposed local development programs may support the implementation of many initiatives identified in the Climate Action Plan.
PUBLIC CONTACT
No public contact was made for this agenda item.
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to coordinate closely with EBCE staff to implement programs that benefit the Hayward community, implement the City’s Climate Action Plan, and carry out related projects identified in the Strategic Roadmap.
Prepared by: Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
Approved by:
_________________________________________
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4688323&GUID=F7AA3CB1-0D7A-48C3-A886-6C7CE8C13EB7&Options=&Search= https://hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5018124&GUID=8CCC9164-4B0D-463C-AD16-709EFC1035D4&Options=&Search= CARE is the California Alternate Rates for Energy Program and FERA is the Family Electric Rate Assistance Program. More information is available at https://ebce.org/care/