DATE: September 16, 2024
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT Ava 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 Ava Community Energy 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 Ava’s electricity products; and rates and bill savings for Ava’s electricity products. The agency was established in 2016 as East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) and in 2023, the name was changed to Ava Community Energy.
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; in 2025 will begin serving the cities of Stockton and Lathrop; and in 2026 will begin serving San Joaquin County. In 2023, EBCE changed its name to Ava Community Energy to reflect the expanded service territory, which is now more than the East Bay.
EBCE currently offers two electricity products:
Bright Choice – Carbon content higher than PG&E. Rates are 5% lower than PG&E rates.
Renewable 100 – 100% renewable electricity, sourced entirely from California solar and wind energy. Rates are currently ¼ 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, Ava also offers programs aimed at improving resiliency and electrifying buildings and vehicles. Following are some of the programs that will be included in EBCE’s presentation:
Energy Resilience at Critical Facilities – The City is partnering with Ava 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 – Ava 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.
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 Ava 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.
Community Resilience Hubs – Ava is working with community partners to identify potential locations for resilience hubs that will have solar and batteries and other resources available to the community during emergencies.
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 small premium, however, the Bright Choice product is currently much more carbon intensive than PG&E’s base product. In 2022, the last year for which data is publicly available, Bright Choice was 63% carbon free while PG&E was 95% 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. Ava’s target for Bright Choice for 2023 was 76% and the target for 2024 – 2026 is 81%. Ava’s goal is for its entire portfolio to be carbon free by 2030.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
While most Hayward customers are automatically enrolled in Renewable 100, customers enrolled in the medical baseline discount program or the income-qualifying CARE/FERA, discount programs 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% and in 2023, the discount was increased to 5%. In addition, in the last few years, Hayward customers enrolled in CARE/FERA have received $50 bill credits totaling $1.5 million.
Rates for Renewable 100 were originally one penny per kWh more than PG&E rates, but the premium has since been reduced to ¼ of a penny per kWh. Ava’s cost of purchasing renewable energy is increasing and the City of Fremont recently chose to make Renewable 100 the default product for their customers. Ava will transition Fremont’s customers in phases to minimize the cost impacts, but it is likely that the premium for Reenable 100 will increase next year.
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 supports the Strategic Priority to Champion Climate Resilience & Environmental Justice, and specifically relates to implementation of the following Projects:
Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Dependency on Fossil Fuels:
Project CP1: Implement Year 1 Programs from the adopted GHG Roadmap (Climate Action Plan).
Project CP2: Continue to collaborate with Ava Community Energy to provide public EV charging facilities.
Project CP5: 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-bike and not just electric cars
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 2020-2022, the carbon content for Bright Choice increased significantly while PG&E decreased theirs. Bright Choice emissions are gain declining and will be zero by 2030. In addition, Ava’s current and proposed local development programs are supporting the implementation of many initiatives identified in Hayward’s Climate Action Plan.
PUBLIC CONTACT
No public contact was made for this agenda item.
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to coordinate closely with Ava 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:
____________________________
Dustin Claussen, Interim 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/