July 15, 2025
TO: City Council
REQUESTED BY: Robert Johnson, City Manager
APPROVED BY: Robert A. Johnson, City Manager
SUBJECT: San Jacinto Power Residential Peak Demand Response Incentive Program RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
) Approve the San Jacinto Power residential peak demand response incentive program; and ) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute program contracts and policies, if applicable, on behalf of the City with concurrence from the City Attorney.
BACKGROUND:
On November 17, 2016, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 16-12 establishing the San Jacinto Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program, San Jacinto Power (SJP). SJP has been successfully serving customers since 2018. In addition to providing renewable energy at competitive prices to its customers, SJP intends to offer customer programs to not only support the renewable energy goals of the state by leveraging innovation and cutting-edge technologies, but also to enhance grid stability and create new meaningful benefits for its residents.
On March 21, 2023, CalChoice and Participate.Energy (P.E.) introduced to the City Council the SJP Power Choice Program, a collaborative initiative with Tesla designed to offer San Jacinto’s SJP customers a residential solar and battery storage solution. The City Council formally adopted this program through a series of agreements, establishing an accessible path for the community to acquire solar panels and battery storage without upfront costs or credit checks. The SJP Power Choice Program empowers residents with the benefits of solar energy, including lower energy costs, backup power, and the opportunity to participate in grid services, making clean energy more equitable and accessible for all. The program officially launched to all residential customers on October 1, 2023.
The Power Choice Program advances solar market democratization by removing consumer credit checks, requiring no upfront costs, and offering low energy rates. The program was designed to help customers save on monthly energy bills, maintain reliable backup power in the event of outages, and support SJP in reducing grid stress during peak demand periods.
While the SJP Power Choice Program has been helpful for most residents, the structure of the program did not present a financially logical option for California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) customers. CARE is a program that provides income-qualified households with discounted utility rates. Many CARE customers found that participating in the standard program could result in higher monthly costs compared to existing CARE benefits.
To address this gap and ensure equitable access, the City launched SJP Power Choice CARE in April 2025, an income-qualified version of the program that enables eligible residents to receive solar and battery storage systems with no upfront costs or credit checks, at approximately half the cost of the traditional Power Choice Program. The program is administered in alignment with the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) and includes assistance with enrollment, technical support, and funding access for related upgrades.
As a condition of SGIP participation, the CPUC requires that customers also enroll in an approved Demand Response (DR) program for a minimum of ten years. To comply with this requirement and ensure program eligibility, the City has developed the PRIME Residential Peak Demand Response Incentive Program.
This DR program supports grid reliability and encourages residents to reduce electricity usage during peak periods by offering:
• Lower baseline energy rates during non-event periods; • Incentivized rate signals during peak demand periods (typically 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) when a DR event is called;
• Load Reduction Adder Charges for electricity drawn from the grid during event periods, to encourage conservation or battery discharge.
SJP staff may call up to 15 DR events per calendar year. These efforts align with CPUC’s statewide objectives to manage grid stress, prevent outages, and reduce reliance on fossil-fuel peaker plants.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact on the General Fund. The incentive program is designed to help residential customers lower electricity bills by offering reduced energy rates in the summer months. In return, customers are asked to shift or reduce energy use on called peak energy days when demand on the grid is forecasted to be high.
ATTACHMENTS:
SJP FlexWise Terms and Conditions DRAFT