News Room
Community Choice, a new vision for the Central Valley's energy future, is a dynamic program. Browse recent news coverage below or read the latest Community Choice program news releases.
March 2, 2010
PG&E agrees local rates are unfair
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. power bills in Kern County are unfair, company spokesman Ken Cooper told the Kern County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Customers here pay higher costs for power to keep bills low in the San Francisco Bay area and other temperate parts of the company’s territory. read more »
February 15, 2010
Public power backers cry foul over utility effort
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is funding a June ballot initiative that would amend California's constitution to make it much harder for cities and counties to offer residents another choice for buying their power. The investor-owned utility, which has about 15 million customers in northern and central California, has already spent $6.5 million on Proposition 16, according to state campaign records. The company is the sole source of the initiative's funding. read more »
February 14, 2010
PG&E funding Prop. 16 to keep its stranglehold
People want relief from sky-high utility bills. The state wants to encourage power-company competition, green energy and lower rates with the Community Choice law. So, how does Pacific Gas & Electric Co. respond to these threats to its monopoly? The utility giant bankrolls a deceptive June ballot initiative that seeks to rewrite California's constitution, kill upstarts in their tracks and block the expansion of municipal utility companies such as the one saving money for residents of Sacramento. read more »
February 10, 2010
PG&E amps up bid for power
The utility's initiative has become Proposition 16, which is written broadly to apply to all public power systems. By undermining all competition from public power agencies, it will benefit no one except PG&E
Speculation has been raging over whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent junking of federal campaign spending limits on corporations will be very bad for democracy, or not so bad. As with many important trends in American society, California was there first, and we have the answer. Thanks to a nakedly cynical $6.5-million ballot campaign launched by our biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, we can say this: It's going to be worse than you can possibly imagine. read more »
February 4, 2010
PG&E vs. democracy
PG&E just doubled down on its effort to stop public power in the state. According to campaign-finance documents filed with the California secretary of state, on January 22, the for-profit utility wrote a $3 million check to fund Proposition 16, the so-called "Taxpayers Right to Vote Act," which will be appearing on your June ballot. read more »
February 1, 2010
PG&E spending millions to block local utilities
PG&E is spending millions of dollars on a statewide initiative that would make it tougher for you to get your power from anyone else. The initiative, one of several appearing on the June 8 ballot, would require two-thirds approval from local voters before cities or counties could choose an alternate energy provider. read more »
January 19, 2010
PG&E makes a new power grab
Pacific Gas and Electric spent $3.5 million to collect more than a million signatures to qualify what it calls the Taxpayers Right to Vote Act for California's June ballot. The self-serving title makes it sound like motherhood and apple pie. It is neither; the opposite, in fact. read more »
December 28, 2009
PG&E ballot measure is a stealthy power play
The proposed Taxpayers Right to Vote Act illustrates what California's initiative process has come to. It's a plaything of powerful interests using deception to line their pockets.
On the face of it, nobody should find anything objectionable to the Taxpayers Right to Vote Act, a proposed initiative now awaiting certification to go on the state ballot. The measure would require a two-thirds vote by residents of a municipality to approve certain public expenditures or borrowings. read more »
June 26, 2009
Community energy plan on suspension
The San Joaquin Valley Power Authority, a group of 11 cities and one county that hoped to supply power to more than 112,000 customers, has temporarily suspended its efforts due to market conditions. read more »
June 12, 2009
Aggregators Wary of New Initiative, Senate Bill
Pacific Gas & Electric has helped to fund a ballot initiative that would make it more difficult for areas to buy their own power as community-choice aggregators. The "Taxpayers Right to Vote Act" would make any aggregation attempt by a local government subject to a two-thirds vote of its citizens. Aggregators are also looking carefully at SB 695, which would phase in more direct access in the state but would place a cap on how much demand could be met through energy service providers. read more »
August 20, 2008
Why is Community Choice Aggregation So Promising?
Communities and local governments are increasingly looking for ways they can influence high utility prices, obtain more renewable energy and become more self-sufficient. Community Choice Aggregation is perhaps the most promising option for achieving these goals. read more »
August 13, 2008
Kings County plugging into energy savings
Kings County Board of Supervisors agreed to a contract with Chevron Energy Solutions July 22, setting in motion energy savings projects at the county's government center that for the next 20 years will more than pay their way. read more »
May 11, 2008
Choices, not monopoly
PG&E has finally admitted publicly that it is representing its shareholders and not its customers when actively working against the efforts of local communities to implement a Community Choice program. read more »
April 30, 2008
Contractor free to seek power-generating contracts
A public agency that hopes to sell electricity to residents of 12 Valley communities gave the go-ahead Tuesday for its key contractor to shop for power-generating contracts. read more »
April 25, 2008
Long road to community choice
Local leaders navigate power grab they say will bolster region's economics
In 2002, soon after the term "rolling blackouts" joined the lexicon of the West, the Kings River Conservation District started brainstorming ways it could restore energy stability to the area. read more »
April 18, 2008
Valley cities launch local power grab
Coalition takes on PG&E to offer users lower electric rates
Next year, something strange will appear in the electricity bills of 200,000 Central Valley power customers - a notice informing them that they now have a choice about where they buy their power. read more »
April 16, 2008
Local communities reach for power over energy
Marin County residents want more solar and wind power. San Francisco officials think they might be able to strike better energy deals. Some cities in the San Joaquin Valley want to build their own power plants. read more »
April 15, 2008
PG&E dispute settled
Valley public electricity cooperative reaches deal.
The state's first public electricity cooperative and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Monday they have settled a dispute over PG&E's marketing campaign against the co-op. read more »
April 7, 2008
Power Co-op vs. PG&E
A public electricity co-op in the San Joaquin Valley is battling one of California's energy giants over who gets to serve the area's customers. read more »
April 2, 2008
Brown-out on PG&E
California State Attorney General Jerry Brown's office is investigating Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s meddling with Community Choice Aggregation, according to several sources who spoke with the Guardian. read more »
January 4, 2008
Energy outlook variable on plans
According to a California Energy Commission forecast, the state's two major public utilities will need to provide 46,685 gigawatts of electricity in 2008. This is an increase of nearly 8 percent from 2005. read more »
December 29, 2007
By the book
Pacific Gas & Electric's opposition to the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority is driven by economic interests -- PG&E doesn't like competition. PG&E wages vicious campaigns to stifle any competition from publicly owned utilities to maintain a monopoly, high electrical rates and profits. read more »
December 24, 2007
PG&E opposes power group
Valley cities, county try to form state's first public electricity cooperative.
The state's first public electricity cooperative, poised to provide power to more than 115,000 customers across the Valley, has found itself under attack by the big guy on the block -- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. read more »
December 21, 2007
Community power on tap
Central Valley residents were introduced to the concept of community choice aggregation with the formation of the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority. This group of 12 municipalities has joined together to purchase its own electricity instead of buying it from the state's utilities. read more »
November 9, 2007
PG&E takes a stab at authority
Pacific Gas and Electric began an advertising campaign this week targeting a fledgling power co-op looking to provide cheaper electricity and rate stability to the South Valley in coming years. The San Joaquin Valley Power Authority slammed PG&E for going negative, calling the ads "deceitful in the extreme" and illegal. read more »
August 15, 2007
Their neighborhood
PG&E and its proxies fight public power, here and in the San Joaquin Valley.
Some interesting mail landed in the boxes of Potrero Hill residents last week: flyers with a photograph of industrial stacks spewing plumes of pollution. read more »
August 1, 2007
Fresno declines power authority
Pollution concerns overshadow promises of cheaper electricity.
The Fresno City Council decided Tuesday to bow out of a public power authority amid concerns that the authority's plans for a local electricity-generating plant could worsen the Valley's dirty air. read more »
July 22, 2007
There goes the power. Again.
The Valley suffers more outages than neighboring regions.
Is it the weather? Or has PG&E failed to keep up with growth?
If you think the Fresno area gets more than its share of electrical blackouts, you're right. Customers in the Fresno division of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. go without power longer than those in most areas served by the utility in Central and Northern California, according to a report the utility filed with state regulators. read more »
July 13, 2007
'Solar resource'
A plan to build the largest solar-power farm in the world [story July 6] is welcome news in the Valley. This unprecedented solar project will use our abundant solar resource to directly address several pressing concerns for our Valley: sustainability, air quality, energy independence and job creation. read more »
July 10, 2007
Precarious power supply
California's electricity challenges are far from over. As temperatures rise and reservoirs decline, a shortage of hydroelectricity and increased demand could spell trouble. read more »
July 7, 2007
Just call us Solar Valley
Local leaders must capitalize on convergence of factors in industry.
The Bay Area has Silicon Valley. Why can't we be Solar Valley? Let's take a moment to celebrate the news that a series of large-scale solar-energy systems are positioned to come to the Valley, making the region a solar powerhouse on a global scale. read more »
July 6, 2007
Solar plant plan dwarfs all others
Project headed for west Fresno Co. would power 20,800 homes.
A startup company that just announced plans to build an enormous solar-energy plant in west Fresno County unveiled an even more massive project Thursday -- further boosting the Valley as a focal point of the emerging industry. read more »
June 17, 2007
More choice is a powerful option
Element of competition could lower electricity rates for Valley
individuals, businesses and governments.
A regional power authority that hopes to provide lower-cost electricity is gathering steam, as more communities sign on to the concept. That could be very good news for power users as well as local government treasuries. read more »
June 4, 2007
Electricity promises questioned
PG&E doubts Authority's claims it can provide cheaper power.
A Valley-based electric power authority is being questioned about its promise to provide 300,000 customers with cheaper electricity than private utilities. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which could lose customers to the public San Joaquin Valley Power Authority, said the agency cannot provide the rates it promises. read more »
February 16, 2007
Central Valley Cities Get On Board Customer Aggregation Bandwagon
A group of 12 Central Valley cities plus Kings County is looking to become the first to implement community-choice aggregation in California since a 2002 bill opened the playing field. read more »
February 9, 2007
San Joaquin Valley First to Seek Community-Choice Aggregation
Thirteen local governments representing 800,000 people in the San Joaquin Valley asked the California Public Utilities Commission to allow them to take direct control of their electricity supply January 29. read more »
January 3, 2007
Plug it in
New power play bodes well for Valley energy consumers.
A new player is about to join the energy market in the central San Joaquin Valley, and that's good news for consumers, from residential customers to cities and counties. read more »
December 31, 2006
New power authority set to buy electricity for Valley
A new Valley-based power authority will begin buying electricity next year that could end up going to more than 300,000 Valley customers. read more »
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